CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY: THE National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Regional Office 10 recently organized the RDC-10 Private Sector Convention to facilitate the elections of private sector representatives to the Regional Development Council (RDC) of Northern Mindanao.
Invited to the Convention were the private sector organizations duly accredited by the NEDA-10 based on the guidelines of EO 325.
These included: the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), All Workers Allied Trade Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (AWATU-TUCP), Balay Mindanaw Foundation Inc. (BMFI), Chamber of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industries of Northern Mindanao Inc.(CAFFINORMIN), Financial Executives Institute of Cagayan de Oro Philippines, Inc. (FPOP Inc.), Family Planning Organization of the Philippines Inc. – Misamis Oriental Chapter (FPOPI-Mis Or.), Foundation for Growth, Organizational Upliftment of People, Inc. (Group Foundation Inc.), Handicapped Anchor is Christ Inc. (HACI d Oro), Lanao Aquatic and Marine Fisheries Center for Community Development, Inc. (LAFCCOD Inc.),
Mindanao Alliance of Self-Help Societies-Southern Philippines Educational Cooperative Center Inc. (MASS-SPECC), Metalworking Industries Association of the Philippines-Northern Mindanao Chapter, Inc. (MIAP-NM), National Association of Independent Travel Agencies-Philippines Inc. (NAITAS), Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation Inc. (Oro Chamber), Confederation of Philippine Exporters Association-Northern Mindanao (PhilExport10A), Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers Inc. (PICE), Philippine Mental Health Association Inc. (PMHA Inc.), Philippine Service of Mercy Foundation Inc. (PSMFI), Safe River, Life Saver Foundation Inc. (SRLSFI), Technology Outreach Community Help Foundation, Inc. (TOUCH Foundation Inc.) and the United Architects of the Philippines Inc.-Cagayan de Oro Chapter (UAP-CDO).
Accredited Private Sector Representatives (PSRs) are entitled to participate in RDC-10 activities, meetings, and trainings.
NEDA-10 ARD Ro-Ann Bacal, who supervised the elections, emphasized that the participation of the private sector in meetings about regional concerns is crucial in order to ensure a more holistic approach and a more dynamic exchange of ideas on the development and growth of Northern Mindanao.
On the other hand, out-going RDC-10 Co-Chair Sylvia Paraguya, conveyed that the partnership of government and the private sector has become stronger over the years and that the challenge is to continually tackle crucial issues that will redound to the betterment in the lives of our people.
During the en banc elections, Arsenio Sebastian (OROChamber) and Dr. Modesto Babaylan (PICE) were unanimously nominated to the Council’s top positions.
Their names, along with two other nominees from the government sector, will be forwarded to the Office of the President for appointment to either RDC-10 Chair or Co-Chairperson. Elected as Chair and Vice-Chair, respectively, of the Sector Committees are the following: Macro and Dev Ad Committee - Stanley Uriarte (BMFI) and Nic Borja (ALU-TUCP); Social Development Committee- Merlita Adaza (PMA) and Dr. Ike Ampo (HACI d Oro); Economic Development Committee- Al Brito (MIAP-NM) and Malu Rubic (NAITAS); Infrastructure Committee- Jasmin Agbon (FinEx) and Fermin Flores (LAFCCOD).
The RDC-10 will confirm the election results during its meeting on August 22.
Also elected as PSRs for the RDC’s Regional Project Monitoring Committee, were Perigine Encarquez (TOUCH), Jordan Apat (PSMFI) and Dr. Modesto Babaylan (PICE). The United Architects of the Philippines remains as a member of the Regional Land Use Committee.
The RDC-10 membership includes local government units (34.4%), regional line agencies (39.3%), private sector representatives (26.3%). On August 22, the government sector will also conduct its own elections for nominees for Chair, Co-Chair, and the officers of the RDC-10 Sector Committees. The elected PSRs will be confirmed by the Council then.
STAR PEÑALOSA