The Regional Development Council of Bicol, hereinafter referred to
as the RDC, is the highest policy-making body in the region and
serves as the counterpart of the NEDA Board at the sub-national
level. It is the primary institution that coordinates and sets the
direction of all economic and social development efforts in the
region. It also serves as the forum where local efforts can be
related and integrated with national development activities.
The RDC was established to provide a regional body to oversee the
overall socio-economic development of the region. Its primary task
is to coordinate development planning and policy making in the
region.
The RDC was organized in 1974 through Letter of Implementation (LOI)
No. 22 issued on December 31, 1972 pursuant to the implementation of
the Integrated Reorganization Plan (IRP) of 1972. Its present
constitutional foundation rests on Article X, Section 14 of the 1987
Philippine Constitution, which provides that:
“The President shall provide for regional development
councils, or other similar bodies composed of local government
officials, regional heads of departments and other offices, and
representatives from non-government organizations within the region
for purposes of administrative decentralization to strengthen the
autonomy of units therein and to accelerate the economic and social
development of the units in the region."
To make the RDC more effective in carrying out its constitutional
mandate, it was reorganized through Executive Order No. 308 issued
on November 5, 1987. Subsequent amendments include EO Nos. 318 (S.
1988), 347 and 366 (S. 1989), 455 (S. 1991) and 505 (S. 1992). On
April 12, 1996 the RDC was again reorganized with the issuance of EO
325 further strengthen the RDCs to make it more responsive to new
developments in socio-political fields and to ensure sustainable and
broad-based development process. Recognizing labor as a primary
social and economic force, EO 384 was subsequently issued on 07
December 1996 thereby institutionalizing the labor sector
representation in the RDCs. The regular membership of the Council
was further expanded in 2002 to include the Commission on Higher
Education (CHED) and the Technical Education and Skills Development
Authority (TESDA), taking cognizance of their role as major
stakeholders in the generation of high-level and technical manpower
at the regional level (EO 143).
As provided in EO 325, the Regional Directors of members represented
in the NEDA Board shall be regular members of the RDC. Per
Administrative Order (AO) 148 (S. 2006), the NEDA Board was
reconstituted which excluded the membership of the Department of
Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of the Interior and Local
Government (DILG) and the Department of Health (DOH). These agencies
were, however, reinstated through EO 562 (S. 2006) considering the
critical roles of these agencies in the pursuit of socio-economic
development across the regions.
On June 30, 2008, Administrative Order 231 was issued which
reorganized the cabinet groups including the NEDA Board. It excluded
the membership of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Department of
Labor and Employment (DOLE) and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
It added Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC),
Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) and
Presidential Management Staff (PMS). The membership of DOLE and DFA
were also reinstated through EO 755 (S. 2008).
The RDC under EO 325 (s. 1996) has become more responsive to the
increased autonomy of the LGUs as provided for by the 1991 Local
Government Code (Republic Act No. 7160). In particular, EO 325 was
issued to enable the RDC to respond effectively to the increased
needs of the LGUs for technical assistance in the areas of planning,
investment programming and project development in the light of the
LGUs’ strengthened roles and greater responsibilities. The NEDA
Regional Office 5 serves as the secretariat of the RDC.
The RDC’s relevance is further highlighted through the major
functions it is mandated to do such as coordination of the
implementation programs in the regions that involves several local
government units and agencies. The technical assistance it provides
to LGUs, upon request, extends to the preparation of local
development plans and programs and fulfilling requirements of LGU
projects proposed to be funded under the Official Development
Assistance (ODA).
The RDC 5 manual of operations was updated in 2007 (RDC Resolution
No. 05-02) and in 2009 (RDC Resolution No. 26) considering new
presidential directives and RDC 5 resolutions, instructions and
agreements.
