The Regional Development Council XI Advisory Committee (RDC XI AdCom) convened for its 2021 Second Semester Meeting via Zoom on August 13, 2021. Seven RDC XI AdCom resolutions were passed, viz: 1) Support for the passage of a consolidated Bill of Senate Bills 2153 and 2157, creating the Metropolitan Davao Development Authority (MDDA); 2) Request for Congress to fast track the passage of Senate Bill 1100, s.2019, an Act transferring the control and supervision of provincial and sub-provincial jails to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP); 3) Support for the passage of a Waste-to-Energy Act; 4) Support for the passage of a Rural Agricultural and Fisheries Development Financing System Act; 5) Support for the passage of Senate Bill 1649 and House Bill 8850 on the Modernization of the Bureau of Immigration, with the inclusion of a provision that would ensure stricter enforcement of border crossing control; 6) Request for Congress to fast track the passage of House Bill 8101, an Act providing for the promotion and development of the Philippine creative industries; and, 7) Creation of the Davao Regional Committee on Devolution (ComDev) as a sub-committee of the RDC XI.   

Also discussed during the meeting were the situation of inter-regional distribution of infrastructure agencies’ budget appropriations and the legacy programs/projects of the Duterte Administration in Davao Region. These discussion points shall serve as inputs in the formulation of the successor Philippine Development Plan (PDP) and Davao Regional Development Plan (DRDP), 2023-2028, the Budget Call and joint memorandum circulars on strengthening national, regional, and local investment programming-budgeting for the succeeding Fiscal Years beginning FY 2023, as well as, the programmed regional consultation-meeting of President Rodrigo R. Duterte with stakeholders during the final year of his term, dubbed as The President’s Pasasalamat Tour.

The RDC XI AdCom, composed of members of the RDC XI Executive Committee as well as Senators and Congresspersons who are from Davao Region, re-affirmed during this meeting its resolve to work together in sustaining a legacy of good governance and in ushering a better normal and a resilient future for all stakeholders in Davao Region.

-Faith L. Cabiles, NEDA XI