VP NOLI VOWS TO USE 'ALL POWERS' TO DEVELOP MIMAROPA
June 23, 2008

Vice President Noli Kabayan' De Castro vowed last week (June 19) to complete the priority projects of Region 4-B in 2010, saying he will use all his powers to bring development in Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan.

De Castro, who was recently appointed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as the Cabinet Officer for Regional Development (CORD) for Region 4-B which covers the four provinces otherwise known as MIMAROPA, said he will complete the priority projects and programs of the region on time.

“I do not only intend to know what these priority programs and projects and urgent concerns are. As the CORD for MIMAROPA, I will make sure that they are implemented and implemented on time,” he said during the special meeting of the region's development council in Calapan, Mindoro the other day.

“You can be assured that I will constantly call on and follow up with the department secretaries themselves if their department or agencies are slow in implementing these priority projects, “ he added.

The Vice President said he is more challenged to bring development in MIMAROPA because the provinces in the region have weak economies.

But more importantly, he said, he accepted the CORD position for region 4-B because it covers Mindoro where he comes from. De Castro hails from Pola, Mindoro.

“Other regions were offered to me in the past, but being a son of Oriental Mindoro, I would not have it any other way than to be CORD for the MIMAROPA region. And I am pleased that I have been given this chance,” De Castro said.

De Castro challenged the governors, mayors, government agencies and the private sector in the region to immediately get into serious business.

He said the region's RDC should not waste time if it wants to accomplish its priority projects and programs that include an airport as efforts to transform MIMAROPA as one of the food basket and tourism hub of the country.

“What is important and what I intend to pursue as your CORD is for us to agree on priority projects that will benefit the entire region. Projects which are doable and can be completed in the next years,” he said.

At one point during the occasion, De Castro was appalled to learn that many of MIMAROPA's big projects are still pending and have no status report.

Known for his hands-on approach in implementing programs such as the shelter thrust of the government, De Castro was quick to recommend to the MIMAROPA RDC the monitoring of on-going projects to establish their status.

“We cannot finish anything if we don't know where to start or to continue. We must get serious with our efforts if we really want to bring development in our region,” he added.

The CORD has been in place since the time of former President Corazon Aquino as a mechanism between the regional and sub-regional levels of governmant and the national leadership to address problems in government operations.

Its major goal, De Castro said, is to bring government closer to the people via two approaches. One is for the CORD to know the urgenct concerns in the region and to bring this to the attention of the national government for immediate action.

Second, he added, is for the CORD to bring to the regions the programs and projects of the national government as well as disseminate critical information on what governmnet is doing to address issues and promote growth especially in the countryside.

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