The Eastern Visayas (Region 8) Regional Development Council (RDC), during a meeting on Tuesday, endorsed PHP196.47 billion worth of projects for 2027.
In a press briefing late Tuesday at the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) regional office in Palo, Leyte, RDC officials said the body endorsed some 2,257 proposed programs, projects, and activities strategically distributed across key development sectors.
Majority or PHP90.83 billion of the proposal was for social development aimed at expanding access to education, healthcare, social protection, housing, and employment opportunities across Eastern Visayas.
“Social sector budget proposals are focused on strengthening the delivery of essential services, particularly for vulnerable and underserved communities in the region. It also featured proposals from state universities and colleges, largely involving the construction and upgrading of academic buildings, laboratories, and research facilities to improve higher education delivery and support research and innovation in Eastern Visayas,” the RDC said.
Other proposed projects are under the infrastructure development sector with PHP88.2 billion, the economic development sector with PHP62.96 billion, development administration sector with PHP6.81 billion, and the environment sector with PHP1.54 billion.
“I really hope that it will be approved. The idea here is to hit a high rate of approval, but we are also aware that this will undergo deliberation because everybody must cut down the budget because of the energy emergency,” Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho Petilla, the RDC chairperson, said.
Once approved, the budget is expected to support vital infrastructure, economic, social, and administrative initiatives, benefitting residents in Eastern Visayas.
The RDC said its fiscal year 2027 budgeting process is guided by the enhanced Public Investment Management guidelines that adopt multi-dimensional and participatory budget review.
The endorsement mechanism was through the Regional Inter-agency Task Force on Planning and Budgeting, concerned RDC sectoral committees, the RDC full council, and external stakeholders, including the local government units and private sector representatives. (PNA)
