* The Regional Development Council 7 approved creating a joint Cebu-Bohol technical working group to improve food security and lower rising prices of basic commodities in Central Visayas.
* Proposed by DOLE, the working group will address shipping bottlenecks, review pricing along supply chains, and facilitate direct sourcing from farmers to help lower consumer prices.
* The initiative responds to regional inflation and Cebu’s 70 percent reliance on external food supplies, alongside ongoing regional efforts to cushion economic impacts from the Middle East conflict.
THE Regional Development Council (RDC) 7 has approved a recommendation to create a joint Cebu-Bohol technical working group aimed at improving food security and addressing rising prices of basic commodities in the region.
The recommendation was endorsed during a meeting of the Regional Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food and Transport (Uplift) Committee at the Danao Civic Center in Cebu, chaired by Gov. Pamela Baricuatro.
Proposed by the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole), the technical working group will strengthen coordination between Cebu and Bohol on the supply of fish, seafood and agricultural products.
Supply bottlenecks
According to RDC 7, the group will identify shipping and logistics bottlenecks affecting the movement of agricultural and seafood products, examine pricing practices along the supply chain and facilitate direct sourcing from farmers and fishers to help lower consumer prices.
The committee said the initiative was prompted by inflation in Central Visayas and Cebu’s heavy dependence on food supplies from outside the province, estimated at about 70 percent.
Demand monitoring
Dole 7 Director Roy Buenafe said the region has enough food supplies but needs better monitoring of actual demand.
“We are confident that we have supplies, but we have to look at people coming from around so that we can know what is really the measurement of food supply that we need at a given time,” Buenafe said.
Economic interventions
Representatives from National Government agencies, local government units (LGUs), the private sector and development organizations attended the meeting.
Committee members also reviewed the consolidated status report on the Central Visayas Regional Uplift Response, which detailed government assistance provided to vulnerable sectors affected by the economic impact of the conflict in the Middle East. The report will be submitted to the National Uplift Committee chaired by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The committee also examined the region’s latest inflation report to help guide government interventions aimed at protecting households from rising prices.
Regional response
Central Visayas was the first region to establish a Regional Uplift Committee through RDC 7 Resolution 1, Series of 2026, following the issuance of Executive Order 110 by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos on March 24, 2026.
The committee serves as the coordinating body for government efforts involving National Government agencies, LGUs and private sector partners in responding to economic disruptions in the region.
The creation of the Cebu-Bohol technical working group builds on an earlier initiative by the Regional Uplift Committee in June, when regional officials proposed a task force to examine alleged food cartels and supply chain inefficiencies contributing to high food prices in Central Visayas. / JGS