The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) in Region 7 (Central Visayas) welcomes the plan of Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua to set up a universal project identification (ID) system in the region, an official said Tuesday.

NEDA-7 regional director Efren Carreon said in a statement that Chua highlighted the universal project ID system during his visit in Cebu on October 6, which topped the Cabinet official’s priority agenda for the remainder of this term as head of the country’s premier economic planning body.

He said Chua and Undersecretary Mercedita Sombilla of the regional development team are working with the NEDA Investment Programming Group to come up with such system that will ensure proper management of socio-economic activities in Central Visayas.

The system seeks to assign a unique ID number to each project to facilitate tracking, monitoring and evaluation, while ensuring records are properly managed.

Along with Carreon, Chua also accepted the certificate granted to NRO (NEDA Regional Office)-7 for its ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System recertification.

The NEDA-7 statement said Chua cited the vital role of NEDA-7 as secretariat of the Regional Development Council (RDC) and in vetting proposed projects for implementation in the region, bearing in mind the principle of equity.

“NEDA’s job is to objectively determine who really needs the money. We have to find a way to make this whole evaluation process more objective. Otherwise, we might continue to have inequitable distribution of investments across regions,” Chua was quoted as saying.

He also highlighted his goal to strengthen the internal organization of NEDA as one the priorities for the remaining months of his term.

He reminded the NEDA-7 staff that it is both their job and duty to do more for personal learning and improvement, for family and friends, and for the country. (PNA)