By Franklin P. Gumapon
PAGADIAN CITY – Although most regional offices of the national government agencies
(NGAs) have already transferred here, there are still 28 others that continue
to hold office in Zamboanga City.
Speaking during the
groundbreaking ceremony of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA)-9
building at the government center in Barangay Balintawak here last week, Mayor
Romeo P. Pulmones disclosed that only 32 regional offices have complied with
Executive Order No. 429 issued in 1990 by former President Corazon Aquino
directing the transfer of the regional offices from Zamboanga City to Pagadian
City.
“I am looking forward
to seeing the other 28 regional offices transfer here in Pagadian City soon,”
Mayor Pulmones said.
The NEDA-9 building is
expected to be completed in 18 months with a budget of almost P50 million. It
will be built on a 3,000 square-meter lot donated by the city government.
Moreover, the buildings
of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-9 and the Office
of Civil Defense (OCD)-9 erected at the said government center are now almost
complete.
Present during the
NEDA-9 groundbreaking rites were NEDA Deputy Director-General Margarita R.
Songco, regional directors of NEDA-9, Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of
Interior and Local Government (DILG), Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority (TESDA), Philippine Information Agency as well as other
members of the Regional Development Council (RDC)-9, Congressman Victor Yu of
Zamboanga del Sur’s first district, 1st Infantry (Tabak) Division
chief MGen. Felicito Virgilio Trinidad Jr., provincial chiefs of the different
NGAs, Zamboanga del Sur provincial officials and city officials.
NEDA-9 Regional
Director Teresita Socorro C. Ramos, on the other hand, also bared that the
Zamboanga Peninsula is envisioned to be the “southern agri-fisheries corridor
of the Philippines,” owing to its rich agriculture and marine resources.
Zamboanga Peninsula is
composed of the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga
Sibugay and the cities of Dapitan, Dipolog, Isabela, Pagadian and Zamboanga.
(PIA9)
