l i' ::.i tir.
:l;g\[trr:ld
TUESDA! JUNE 4, 2019
House approvesNBDA
bill on third reading
THE l{ouse of Representa-
tives approved on third and
final reading MondaY a bill
which exparlds the number of
interagency committees helP-
ing the National Economic
and Development AuthodtY
(NEDA) evaluate mole ateas
of the economy
House Bill 9204 or "The
National Economic and Devel-
opment Authority Act" seeks
to ensure the indePendence
of the agency inimplementing
long-telm, integrated and co-
ordinated programs and Poli-
cies for national development.
The bill $'ill enhance de-
centralization and strengthen
the iutonomy of units within
the various regions to acceler-
ate their economic and social
growth a[d development.
Section 9, Article XII of the
1987 Constitution authorizes
"an independent economic
and planning agencY headed
by the President, which shall,
efter consultations with the
appropriate Public agencies,
various private sectors, and lo-
cal government units, recom-
mend to congress, and imple-
ment continuing integrated
and coordinated Pro$ams and
policies for national develoP-
ment."
It added,"Until the Con-
gress provides otherwise,
the National Economic and
Development AuthoritY shall
\ .-r\ g€ -,5 I /€,
function as the indePendent
planning agency ofthe govern-
metrt."
The bill also calls for ad-
ditional interagency commit-
tees to assist NEDA-
.
The NEDA board cullently
has seven committees: the
Development Budget Cqo!-
dination Committee (DBCC),
Infrastructure Committee
(Infracom), lnvestment Co-
ordination Committee (ICC),
Social DeveloPmelrt Com-
mittee (SDc), committee ojr
Tarift and Related Matters
(itnlb, thu n"gion"l l"u"l-
Committee (RDCom)
opment
and the Marine Resource
and Land Use Committee
(MRLUC).
Itnder the NEDA act, ad-
ditional committees include
the Economic Development
Committee @Dc), the Sci-
ence, TechnologY and lnno-
vation Committee (STIC),
the Sustainable and Resilient
Development Committee
(SRDC), the Governance Com-
mittee (GC), and the Human
Resource and Cultural Devel-
opment Committee (Cultu-
reCom).
The bill also Provides for
the harmonization and syn-
chronization of development
planning, investment Pro-
grammiDg, budgeting, and
monitodng, among others. -
Vince Angelo C Ferreras