CALAMBA CITY (PIA) — The Calabarzon Regional Development Council (RDC) welcomed the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) and six other agencies as new voting members during its First Quarter Full Council meeting on Thursday, March 6.
Among the new regular member-agencies of Calabarzon’s RDC are the Department of Energy, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of Migrant Workers, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, Philippine Information Agency, and the Office of Civil Defense.
The inclusion aligns with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s Executive Order No. 82, which reorganized the RDCs to strengthen their role in advancing regional socio-economic development.
As a newly appointed voting member, PIA Region IV-A Regional Head Ma. Cristina Arzadon assured the agency’s continued support for accelerating the region’s economic and social growth, as well as its sustainable development.
“We are grateful for the inclusion of other national agencies as regular members of the RDC, pursuant to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Executive Order 82, which seeks to accelerate socio-economic development in all regions,” Arzadon said.
Since its inclusion in the RDC, PIA IV-A has actively leveraged its platforms to raise awareness of government programs aimed at enhancing the region’s socioeconomic landscape.
“The PIA, even as a non-voting member, had been in full support of the RDC’s pursuit of regional socio-economic transformation under the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028. Now, as a regular member, we will further strengthen our role as government communicators to ensure that the message of socio-economic development reaches the grassroots.”
EO 82, signed on Jan. 28, 2025 repealed EO 325 issued in 1996 and designated 13 government agencies and offices as additional members of the RDCs.
The Regional Development Council serves as the highest planning and policy-making body for socio-economic development in all regions of the country.
The RDCs are composed of local government units, regional line agencies, the academe, and the private sector, which oversee the allocation of public and private investments to support regional development objectives, policies, and strategies. (PB/PIA4A)
