THE Regional Development Council (RDC) 7 honored the 16 outgoing private sector representatives who served from July 2016 until June 2019.

Their terms officially ended last June 30.

The awarding ceremony was held during the second quarter RDC full council meeting at Coco Grove Beach Resort in Siquijor.

The awardees, led by RDC 7 Chairman Kenneth Cobonpue, were given tokens for “sharing their time and expertise and for contributing invaluable recommendations and enriching insights” during meetings, consultations and dialogues of the RDC 7 and its sectoral committees.

“I am happy with how we in Central Visayas performed in terms of economic performance, poverty reduction, and program and project implementation. The challenges will continue, but I have no reason to doubt that we cannot sustain this, with the active participation of all members in RDC activities,” Cobonpue said in his opening statement.

He also urged his fellow RDC members to actively participate in the updating of the 2017-2022 Philippine and Regional Development Plans, saying there is a need to look at what needs to be changed, added and pushed to sustain the region’s growth.

Aside from honoring the private sector representatives, the RDC, through the Regional Project Monitoring Committee 7, also gave out awards for the best projects implemented. The awardees were the Department of Transportation for the construction of the Bohol Panglao International Airport and the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority for the construction of the airport’s Terminal 2.