President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia as a 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.
Created through Republic Act No. 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), said, “This is a singular honor President Duterte has bestowed upon me. I am very grateful. 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.”
The presidential appointment was dated September 23, 2019.
The LEDAC is composed of 20 members with the President as chair. The other members are 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 Local Government Units, 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; and (3) Integrates regional development plans into the national development plan.
Leonardia said Duterte has been very supportive of the city mayors and LGUs. The President also attended the recent 69th National Executive Board Meeting of the LCP 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 the Presidency in 2016, Duterte has graced the world-famous MassKara Festival of Bacolod for three years in a row. He is likewise expected for the fourth time this month.
