PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia as member of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) of the 18th Congress.
As a member, Leonardia will represent all the local government units (LGUs) to the board, thus he is the lone local official to be appointed to the Ledac.
Among the members of the Ledac are the Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House and seven Cabinet secretaries selected by the President.
Widely represented, the Ledac is the highest consultative and advisory body to the president on economic and development matters to integrate the legislative agenda with the national development plan. The president is also the chair of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board.
Created through Republic Act (RA) 7640 in 1992, the Ledac also serves as a venue to facilitate high-level policy discussions on vital issues and concerns affecting national development.
Leonardia, who was also recently elected as national president of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP), an organization of city mayors from 145 cities in the country, said: "This is a singular honor President Duterte has bestowed upon me. It is beyond my expectations and I hope to do the best I can to live up to the expectations of the President and serve the interest of the local government units all over the country. This privilege may also present opportunities to advance Bacolod concerns."
The presidential appointment was dated September 23, 2019 and received by Leonardia on October 1, 2019.
The Ledac is composed of 20 members with the President as chair. The other members are the three members of the Senate designated by the Senate President, three members of the House of Representatives designated by the Speaker of the House, a representative of the LGUs, a representative from the youth sector, and a representative from the private sector.
RA 7640 mandates Ledac with the following functions, among others:
(1) Determines and recommends socio-economic development goals
(2) Provides policy advice to the President
(3) Integrates regional development plans into the national development plan
(4) Studies measures to improve implementation of official development assistance
(5) Assesses effectiveness of the implementation of the national development plan.
Leonardia said Duterte has been very supportive of Bacolod.
The President also had attended the 69th National Executive Board Meeting of the LCP, which Leonardia presided, in Davao City last week.
Leonardia had taken both his oath as LCP national president and his sixth term as mayor before Duterte.
Since he assumed office as President in 2016, Duterte has graced the world-famous MassKara Festival of Bacolod for three years in a row.
Duterte told Leonardia "to show my support for you" when he said he is again coming to the MassKara Festival this year, and it would be his fourth straight time. (PR)