BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan wants the Regional Development Council (RDC) and the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) in the Cordillera to hold joint meetings every quarter to save on time and resources.
The local chief executive issued the pronouncement after being informed that he was recently appointed as the new RDC-CAR Chairperson to replace former Abra Gov. Eustaquio Bersamin in the said position.
Earlier, President Rodrigo R. Duterte also appointed Domogan as the RPOC-CAR Chairperson for the next three years.
“We have to find ways on how we could hold joint meetings for both the RDC and RPOC to save on time and resources plus the fact that both councils have almost the same members,” Domogan stressed.
He pointed out the recent developments in the region’s quest for regional autonomy, particularly the declaration of support by President Duterte, would serve as the jump off point for the RDC in pushing for the third crack for the establishment of an autonomous region in the Cordillera within the President’s term.
Further, he claimed the RDC-CAR will also look into the priority development issues in the different provinces so that appropriate actions could be made for consideration by the concerned national government agencies, especially in the provision of funding support for the priority development projects of various local governments.
Domogan will be meeting with the secretariats of both councils to study the possibility of holding joint meetings considering that both councils meet quarterly to address pressing development and peace and order issues regionwide.
According to him, consultations with the different local chief executives and concerned stakeholders will also be done by both councils to find appropriate solutions to the different issues related to the overall development of the region and the proper implementation of peacekeeping and anti-criminality strategies to sustain law and order in the various parts of the region.
He admitted that it will be a difficult task to be the chair of both important councils, thus, he wants concerned local officials, various regional line agencies, civil society groups, among others, to cooperate in the implementation of the proper development and peacekeeping strategies to propel the growth of the region and the sustained peace and order that will entice investors to establish their respective businesses in identified growth areas.
He underscored both councils must be aggressive in the implementation of the various programs and projects covered under their mandate to bring development efforts to the grassroots level so that the people in the countryside will be able to reap the fruits of development by having quality roads that last their prescribed economic life, available employment opportunities and sufficient sources of livelihood that will help people move out from the shackles of poverty.
By Dexter A. See