(Davao City, 12 December 2023). Davao Region’s Social Development Committee (SDC) conducted its face-to-face 4th quarter 2023 regular meeting on December 6, 2023 at the Waling-Waling Hall of the Department of Education XI as host agency. The meeting was presided by Co-Chairperson Daryll R. Alegarbes, Private Sector Representative for Labor.
The Committee endorsed the CY 2023 Davao Regional Development Report (Social Sector Chapters) to the Regional Development Council (RDC) XI for its approval. The social development sector comprises the following DRDP Chapters: under Chapter 4, Promote Human Capital and Social Development with two sub-chapters namely Sub-Chapter 4.1, Boost Health and Sub-Chapter 4.2, Improve Education and Lifelong Learning; Chapter 5, Increase Income Earning Ability, and Sub-Chapter 6.2, Strengthen Social Protection under Chapter 6, Reduce Vulnerabilities and Protect Purchasing Power.
A total of 213 indicators under the social development sector results matrices were presented with 100 indicators for Chapter 4, 55 indicators for Chapter 5, and 58 indicators for Sub-Chapter 6.2. As of the third quarter of 2023, a total of 105 DRDP indicators and 37 SDG indicators were already above or equal the end-of-plan targets, while 60 DRDP indicators and 19 SDG indicators need to be accomplished until the end of the planning period.
Also presented during the meeting was the Activity Design on the Formulation of a Regional SDG Catch-Up Plan which shall serve as the Region’s overall blueprint for addressing gaps and renewed commitment in attaining the various targets as adopted in the SDG Indicators Framework.
The SDG Catch-up Plan shall utilize various tools and mechanisms introduced by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), in coordination with the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA). Among the tools implemented for the catch-up plan formulation is the UNESCAP-developed EPiC (“Every Policy is Connected”) Framework and Tool which facilitates user-producer dialogue for developing a sustainable development indicator set for national and sectoral policies.
-Jaime P. Mallare, NEDA XI