Leyte targets to host RDCom’s “One Visayas” this 2011

By Provincial Media Relations Center
January 3, 2011

TACLOBAN CITY  –  The provincial government of Leyte is planning to host this year the “One Visayas” activity of the Regional Development Council of the three regions of Western Visayas, Central Visayas and Eastern Visayas.

Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho Petilla said this is one activity that could help promote the province and the region as to its business, tourism and economic potentials.

“We’re trying to see if this 2011, the One Visayas can be held here in Leyte. It does not necessarily have to be here in Tacloban as we have other cities as well in the region such as Ormoc and Maasin City in Southern Leyte,” Gov. Petilla said.

One consideration, however, he added, is the fact that there is no available venue big enough to hold such a large gathering composed of participants from the bonded three regions in the Visayas area.

Participants who gather to a “One Visayas” activity are coming from local government units, regional agencies, state universities and colleges and private sector groups of Regions 6, 7 and 8.

“We really would like to have the One Visayas held here (Leyte) in 2011 and we’ll just look for a good venue for that,” added Gov. Petilla, who is also the new chairman of the Regional Development Council in Eastern Visayas.

Previous hosts of the One VIsayas activity were Cebu held at the Cebu International Convention Center and Roxas City held at the Gerry Roxas Foundation (GRF) Convention Center.

The RDC-8 hosted one activity of the One Visayas in 2010, dubbed as tne Visayas Health at the Leyte Park Hotel in Tacloban City.  The RDC 8, played host to the affair, in partnership with the Department of Health-Center for Health Development 8 under the leadership of DOH-8 Regional Dir. Edgardo Gonzaga.

The Forum was a sequel to the RDCom’s series of One Visayas activities.  Prior to the Health Forum, the One Visayas Culture and Arts Festival, the One Visayas Climate Change Summit, and the second One Visayas Culture and Arts Festival were separately held in Cebu and Roxas City, respectively.  These were initiatives of the three RDCom to bond together the development agenda of Regions 6, 7 and 8.

One Visayas is the brainchild of and is led by the chairpersons of the Regional Development Councils of each of the three regions, Antique Governor Sally Perez for Region 6; Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia for Region 7 and former Calbayog City Mayor now Samar Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento for Region 8 who formerly headed RDC-8.