Governor Joseph Cua recently expressed the full support of his administration for flagship projects in the Bicol Regional Development Plan (RDP) that will serve as the blueprint of agencies and local government units for 2023-2028.
In his message during the Catanduanes leg of the Bicol RDP Provincial Roadshow last May 15, 2024 at the Capitol Dome, the provincial chief executive underscored the importance of such projects as this will establish Catanduanes as a major player in Luzon.
Known for his leadership branding of “Serbisyo Sentro sa Tawo,” Gov. Cua pointed out his strong support for regional projects that focus on energy security, upgrading air and maritime ports, and boosting policies on disaster resiliency, social protection, and infrastructure development.
Spearheaded by the National Economic Development Authority in cooperation with the provincial government, the event was also attended by other stakeholders from diverse sectors composed of municipal mayors, municipal planning and development officers, regional line agencies, members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, civil society organizations, and academic institutions who participated in crucial discussions for the region’s development.
OIC-Assistant Regional Director Jasmin Zantua of NEDA Region 5 emphasized the importance of aligning provincial plans and programs with broader regional and national development frameworks.
She said that the five-year comprehensive plan will serve as the blueprint of national agencies and LGUs in Bicol in order to achieve the goals and objectives of Ambisyon Natin 2024 for the “matatag, maginhawa, at panatag na buhay para sa lahat.”
DILG Catanduanes Provincial Director Uldarico Razal Jr. presented the event’s rationale, setting the stage for fruitful discussions of the development planning process, the overall RDP strategic framework and the guidelines for comprehensive investment programming that was presented by Luis Carlo Banua and Emmanuel Chivic Llaguno of NEDA Region 5.
On the other hand, Provincial Planning and Development Coordinator Engr. Elsie Reyes provided valuable updates on the Catanduanes Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan.
The plan identifies Virac, San Andres and Pandan as high-density and fast-growth municipalities while Bato, Panganiban, Baras, Bagamanoc and Viga are classified as high-density and slow-growth municipalities.
Caramoran, San Miguel and Gigmoto are tagged as low-density and fast-growth municipalities
Among the development issues and concerns named with regards to income and services were: low incomes from limited livelihood opportunities, lack of affordable housing, need for green policies and programs for community housing development, lack of safe and affordable water supply, low level of functional literacy, poor sanitation and hygiene, high malnutrition rate, lack of access to better basic social services, high poverty incidence, high cost of power, gender and development issues, weak systems and institutions and limited capabilities, and need for improver marketing program and support.
In land use, the Catanduanes PDPFP said urban encroachment into prime agricultural lands, flooding of settlements in low-lying areas, environmental degradation, poor solid waste management, lack of space for settlement expansion in some towns, production areas and settlements in disaster-prone areas, lack of strong support to economic base sector, need to adopt green land use technologies, lack of economic development support projects, lack of community agro-industrial and eco-tourism growth zones and other investment priority areas, and need to further improve mobility of people and accessibility of production areas, basic services, and traffic of goods and services.