TANDAG CITY, Surigao del Sur – The Caraga Regional Development Council conducted a provincial caravan in Tandag City on April 16 to advocate the Caraga Regional Development Plan 2023-2028 for the province of Surigao del Sur.
The campaign served as the third leg conducted in Caraga region to raise awareness and understanding of the Caraga RDP 2023-2028, emphasizing its goals, strategies, and the positive impacts it will have on the region’s development, and generate commitment from the LGUs, particularly on their respective contributions to the attainment of the RDP targets.
As partners of the Caraga RDC, leaders from all levels of the local government units, heads from the different line agencies, and academe joined the convergence to show their commitment of support to the RDP 2023-2028.
NEDA Regional Director Gemima Olam highlighted the significance of the Caraga RDP 2023-2028, which aims to achieve the country’s long-term vision of a “Matatag, Maginhawa, at Panatag na Buhay para sa Lahat.”
“For the province of Surigao del Sur, the agro-industries, fishery, forestry, and tourism zone are the areas for the province to prioritize for innovation and industrialization to fully contribute to the RDP 2023-2028,” Olam said.
NEDA Caraga Director Gemima Olam presented the Provincial Product Accounts (PPA) 2022 to the participants of the Caraga Regional Development Plan 2023-2028 provincial caravan in Surigao del Sur on April 16, 2024. According to Olam, this report from the Philippine Statistics Authority will serve as another helpful tool that can be utilized by the local government units, as it provides a better overview of the performance of the industries available at the provincial level. (Photo: PIA-SDS)
Olam disclosed that in 2022, the province of Surigao del Sur ranked second in the region in terms of economic performance, with a growth rate of 6.9 percent for fiscal year 2021-2022 and peso value of over P63 billion on gross domestic product (GDP).
“When it comes to growth, Surigao del Sur is second to Butuan City as the regional hub,” she said.
Gov. Alexander T. Pimentel pledged to align their programs and projects to the RDP 2023-2028.
Pimentel underscored putting an end to all forms of criminality, including insurgency in the province, as stumbling blocks to its development and to contribute effectively to the RDP 2023-2028.
As the host province, Pimentel expressed gratitude to all the attendees, especially to the Caraga RDC chairperson, Gov. Nilo P. Demerey Jr. of the Province of Dinagat Islands, who also joined the activity.
Pimentel commended the leadership of Demerey for being a staunch advocate for vigorous economic growth.
Key agencies of the government and the academe were also called to support the development roadmap of the province, such as the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Caraga, led by Larry M. Heradez, which pledged to support the Caraga RDP 2023-2028 implementation in their agency and its stakeholders.
Heradez assured the public that regulations are in place to ensure responsible mining in the region.
Gov. Alexander T. Pimentel and some of the local chief executives of the province of Surigao del Sur, together with the academe and heads of offices of the national line agencies of the government, were united to pledge support for the implementation of the Caraga Regional Development Plan 2023-2028 at the provincial level. (Photo:PIA-SDS)
North Eastern Mindanao State University (NEMSU) President, Dr. Nemesio Loayon, said, “We support the implementation of the Caraga RDP 2023-2028. We will actively participate in the collaborative activities and engagement in the province and in the region for the realization of this roadmap.”
Loayon shared that the NEMSU, with seven campuses in the province of Surigao del Sur, has institutionalized the establishment of research centers on all its campuses with 30,000 students who are engaged in continuing and emerging programs.
“Our schools, as a haven of innovative and new ideas, are aligned with the Caraga RDP 2023-2028,” he added.
Dr. Nemesio Loayon, president of the North Eastern Mindanao State University in Surigao del Sur, gave assurance to the members of the Caraga Regional Development Council (RDC) that the university will continue to strengthen its efforts on research and development at all seven campuses in the province as support for the Caraga Regional Development Plan 2023-2028. (Photo of PIA-SDS)
He highlighted that the school will be sending its first batch of Bachelor of Laws students to take the upcoming Philippine Bar Examination on September 2024, and the ongoing efforts for the establishment of its Doctor of Medicine Program that recently passed the Committee on Higher and Technical Education in Congress, and along with the ongoing submission of documentary requirements for accreditation by the Commission on Higher Education, including the P100 million budget for a seven-story building for School of Medicine.
To recall, the first leg of the provincial caravan in Agusan del Norte and Butuan City kicked off on Jan. 31. The province of Agusan del Sur had its turn on April 12. The provincial caravan set off in Surigao City on April 19 to complete the final leg for the provinces of Surigao del Norte and Dinagat Islands (NGPB, PIA-Surigao del Sur)
