PALO, Leyte -- The Regional Development Council (RDC) VIII has endorsed 3,575 priority programs and projects of  government agencies and instrumentalities for Fiscal Year 2025 during the Council’s First Quarter Meeting on 21 March 2024, in Ormoc City. 

The endorsed projects totaled P268.76 billion with a near-even split between ongoing (Tier I)  and new or expanded (Tier II). 

Infrastructure and Utilities agencies proposed the most Tier II projects (1,268), followed by social (357), economic (215), and development administration (127) agencies.

The RDC VIII-created Regional Inter-Agency Task  Force on Planning and Budgeting (RIATF-PB) said that half of the proposed programs and projects  have partially complied to complete implementation-ready (IR) documents.

The RDC VIII set a hard deadline of 8 April 2024 for agencies to complete the remaining documents prior to endorsement to the agency central offices.

Completion of IR documents boosts funding prospects by ensuring projects are ready for implementation upon approval. 

“We have thoroughly reviewed budgets at RIATF PB and SecCom levels to enhance implementation readiness and increase chances for inclusion of the FY 2025 budget in the NEP and the GAA,” said RIATF-PB Chairperson and RDC VIII co-chairperson Leo Christian V. Lauzon. 

The RIATF-PB also ensured the alignment of the proposals with regional development priorities as articulated in the 2023-2028 Regional Development Plan and Regional Development Investment Program of Eastern Visayas.

Moving forward, the budget proposals will be sent to agency central offices for consolidation and potential inclusion in the FY 2025 agency budget. (Knulp Aseo/NEDA VIII)