CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Regional Development Council in Central Visayas has approved and endorsed the region’s recovery plan from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown which will focus on sectors involving health, social services, trade, commerce and industry, agriculture and fisheries, services, environment, and energy.
In an emailed press statement, RDC-7 Vice Chairperson and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA-7) Regional Director Efren Carreon said the Central Visayas Regional Recovery Program (CV-RRP) spelled out medium and long-term strategies that would be undertaken by the government and the private sectors to “public health and safety while sustaining economic growth.”
The CV-RRP was approved during the RDC-7’s full council virtual meeting last June 1, 2020.
“The RRP also seeks to define the new normal, the ways forward, and what should be in place so the region could be better prepared for future emergencies,” said NEDA-7 in the statement.
NEDA-7, however, has not specified the strategies or programs that will be implemented for the recovery of each sector.
Read more: Balik Probinsya Program
The endorsed CV-RRP also aligns itself with the national government’s Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa (BP2) Program, which is aimed at decongesting Metro Manila by urging the migrants, especially the informal settlers, to return to their home provinces.
To support the BP2, the RDC-7’s Economic and Development Committee plans to pursue interventions that will stir economic activities in highly urbanized cities (HUCs), which now hosts some 80 percent of the economic activity in Cebu island.
Pending the implementation of the CV-RRP, the RDC-7 also agreed to the suggestions of Bohol Governor Arthur Yap as “immediate” solutions for the “restart” of the region’s economy.
Yap’s proposals included requesting financial institutions to grant lower loan rates to local government units (LGUs) that would borrow money for small businesses and water projects; asking the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to allow the restructuring of loans without penalties or surcharges, and coordinating with the Department of Trade and Industry and other agencies to attract multinational companies, who are looking for ASEAN locations, to settle here./dbs