MALACAŅANG
MANILA
EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 561
FORMATION OF THE "SUPER" REGIONS AND
MANDATE OF THE SUPERREGIONAL DEVELOPMENT CHAMPIONS
WHEREAS, for the first time in almost a
decade the Philippine national budget in under control, the Philippine Government is
lowering its deficit and raising unprecedented amounts of revenue;
WHEREAS, the Medium Tern Philippine
Development Plan commits to presenting a balanced budget by 2010;
WHEREAS, the Philippine government’s
economic managers commit to presenting the balanced budget by 2008;
WHEREAS, the infrastructure initiatives in
the Medium Term Public Investment Program (MTPIP) will cost over One Trillion Pesos
(P1,000,000,000.00);
WHEREAS, the investment program under the
MTPIP will be funded by Government revenues generated by tax reforms, government-owned and
controlled corporations and government financial institutions, as well as partnerships and
other support from private sector and Philippines’ bilateral and multilateral
partners;
WHEREAS, the MTPIP forms part of the
Government’s second phase of economic reforms under which it is investing in better
infrastructure and services to create jobs and improve living standards;
WHEREAS, the most sweeping element of said
phase is to restructure the Philippine economy into "super" regions to bolster
the natural advantages of five distinct subeconomies regions of the country;
WHEREAS, said "super" regions
needs to be built up to create opportunity across the country;
NOW, THEREFORE, I GLORIA MACPAGAL-ARROYO, President
of the republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby
order:
Section 1. The geographical units shall be
grounded into the following "super" regions:
a) Northern Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle, to be composed of
Regions I, II, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), and the northern part of the
provinces of Aurora (north of baler), Tarlac (north of Tarlac City), Nueva Ecija (north of
Cabanatuan City), and Zambales (north of Subic);
b) Luzon Urban Beltway, to be composed of the National Capital Region, (NCR), Region IV-A,
the provinces of Bulacan, Bataan, Pampanga, Mindoro, Marinduque, and the southern parts of
the provinces of Tarlac, Zambales, Aurora and Nueva Ecija;
c) Central Philippines, to be composed of Regions V, VI, VII, and VIII, and the provinces
of Romblon, Palawan, and Camiguin, and the Island of Siargao;
d) Agribusiness Mindanao, to be composed of Regions IX, X except Camigiun, XI, XII, Caraga
except Siargao, and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao; and
e) Cyber Corridor, which traverses the above "super" regions from Baguio to Cebu
to Davao.
The above-mentioned groupings neither supersede current
political boundaries nor alter the regional development councils as established by
existing laws and issuances.
Section 2. The "super" regions shall have the following
primary, through not exclusive, development themes:
a) Northern Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle-Agribusiness
b) Luzon Urban Beltway-Globally competitive industrial and service center
c) Central Philippines- Tourism
d) Agribusiness Mindanao - Agribusiness
e) Cyber Corridor - Information and communication technology and knowledge economy.
Section 3. Each "super" region
shall have a designated Development Champion whose mandate is to:
a) Serve as catalyst for development and prime advocate of
the strategic development theme in his area;
b) Ensure the implementation of the priority programs and projects identified in the 2006
State of the Nation Address and the undated MTPIP, in close collaboration with the
concerned local government units, national agencies and other partners in development, and
undertake the necessary interventions to help ensure that these are completed on time and
at a lowest cost to government.
c) Work out operational policies and remedial actions to ensure that the priority programs
and projects are completed on schedule and a lowest cost to government;
d) Submit a monthly report to the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) on the overall
accomplishment of project implementation, issues and problems identified and recommend
solutions pursuant to item (c) above.
Section 4. The Development Management
Champion are hereby authorized to call on National Economic and Development Authority, the
Department of Budget and Management, the PMS and the Infrastructure Monitoring Task Force
for any assistance in the performance of their mandate, including any information or data
requirement. They may also call on any other government agency, including government owned
or controlled corporations, and government financial institutions, for assistance as they
may deem necessary to ensure the timely and cost-effective implementation of the priority
projects.
All Regional Development Councils shall assist the Development Champions in the
performance of their duties and responsibilities.
The Office of the Press Secretary, Philippine Information Agency and Government mass media
shall provide the necessary assistance in communicating the development endeavors in the
"super" regions to key constituencies and the international community.
Section 5. - The Development Champions are the following:
a) North Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle - PMS Director-General
Arthur Yap;
b) Luzon Urban Beltway - Subic-Clark Alliance for Development Chairman Edgardo Pamintuan;
c) Central Philippines - Secretary of Tourism Joseph Ace Durano; Secretary Cerge Remonde
shall be the Cabinet Officer for Regional Development of region VII;
d) Agribusiness Mindanao - Presidential Adviser for the Peace Process Jesus Dureza;
e) Cyber Corridor - Commission on Information and Communication Technology Chairman Ramon
Sales.
Section 6. The operational requirements of
the Development Champions shall be supported by the budget of the agencies that they head.
Section 7. This Executive Order takes effect
immediately.
Done in the City of Manila, this 19th
day of August in the year of Our Lord , Two Thousand and Six.
(Sgd.) GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
By the President:
(Sgd.) EDUARDO R. ERMITA
Executive Secretary |