Leyte governor named chair of Regional Dev’t Council in Eastern Visayas

TACLOBAN CITY – President Rodrigo Duterte has named Leyte Gov. Leopoldo Dominico Petilla as the chairman of the Regional Development Council (RDC) in Eastern Visayas.

Petilla, who is on his third and last term as governor of Leyte, took his oath before the President last Feb. 8.

This will be the second time that the outgoing Leyte governor would chair the RDC which serves as the regional body that sets the programs and projects of the region.

Petilla first served as RDC-8 chairman from 2013 until 2016.

The Leyte governor was grateful to the President for choosing him as RDC chairman.

“[My appointment as RDC chairman] shows the full confidence of President Duterte, particularly our Leyte Economics program that  works well for the people of Leyte. It also shows that Pres. Duterte has a big heart for the poor,” said Petilla in a text message sent through his information office.

The Leyte Economics refers to Petilla’s poverty alleviation program which provides livelihood assistance to far-flung villages in the province as a way to dissuade residents from joining insurgents or the New People’s Army.

Petilla said that he would apply his anti-poverty program to other parts of Eastern Visayas, particularly the three provinces of Samar Island namely Samar, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar.

Eastern Visayas is one of the country’s poorest regions with its insurgency problem often cited as among the reasons why it fails to attain development.