Tacloban: About PHP78.4 billion worth of projects endorsed by the Eastern Visayas Regional Development Council (RDC) have been included in the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA), the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev) regional office reported Monday.
According to Philippines News Agency, the approved amount accounts for 77 percent of the PHP88.13 billion worth of programs and projects endorsed by the region's highest policy-making body during its meetings last year, said Amelito Domingo, chief economic development specialist of the DEPDev regional office. The social development sector received the largest allocation of PHP66.23 billion, funding initiatives to expand access to education, healthcare, social protection, housing, and employment opportunities across the region.
Other major allocations include PHP3.74 billion for infrastructure development and PHP3.02 billion for economic development. Domingo attributed the high approval rate to the submission of implementation-ready project documents. "There was a higher rate of approval as we endorsed projects with complete and implementation-ready documents. We posted the proposed projects online for public comments and held a series of discussions among RDC members from both the government and private sector," Domingo said in an interview Monday.
He noted that some proposals were not included in the 2026 appropriations due to their absence from agency-wide budget proposals, limited fiscal space, lack of national-level prioritization, and absence of implementation-ready documents. "To increase the chances of inclusion in the GAA, we will focus on strengthening the internal capacity of agencies in project preparation, procurement, and management, particularly those with a high proportion of non-implementation-ready programs, projects, and activities," Domingo said.
The RDC also plans to enhance coordination between central and regional offices to identify and harmonize public investment priorities, as well as to improve feedback mechanisms for regionally endorsed projects included in the national budget.
