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 subnational 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
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 (s. 1996)
to 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).
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 revision and
updating of the operations manual to guide the conduct of RDC
activities is recognized. More specifically, this manual is prepared
for the following purposes:
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To provide
comprehensive information on the Regional Development Council,
its organizational structure, composition and functions;
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To provide
guidelines on requests for RDC actions on policy issues,
programs, projects, and other matters; and
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To define the
roles, functions and powers of the various committees and
instrumentalities of the RDC.
