Deputy House Speaker and Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and members of the Centrist Democratic Party of the Philippines (CDP), Misamis Oriental 2nd District Rep. Juliette Uy and Rep. Ma. Lourdes Acosta-Alba (1st District, Bukidnon) met with Vice-President Leni Robredo on Thursday, March 30, to discuss key urgent projects which are crucial to the future of Mindanao economic development.

In particular, Rodriguez pushed for the urgent implementation of the Mindanao Railway Project, which will connect Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental and Iligan to the whole Mindanao region and inter-connect the  regional economy of Mindanao.

Deputy Speaker Rodriguez was the original proponent of this "game-changer" project for Mindanao way back in 2008 and has been long-delayed already, denying the Mindanaons their rightful economic opportunities and inclusive growth.

Rodriguez also discussed the urgent rehabilitation of the Agus-Pulangi Power Complex, which will extend the life of its facilities for another 30 years, restore its power production to 100% of its rated capacity of 1,000 megawatts (MW) and substantially lower electricity prices in Mindanao by more than half when fully operational. This will surely help MSMEs recover from the effects of the pandemic.

These are major game-changing projects which DS Rodriguez have advocated for several years, along with Rep. Uy and Rep. Acosta-Alba.

In their meeting VP Robredo committed to implement these projects for the development of Mindanao once elected President. VP Robredo thanked DS Rodriguez and the CDP Party for their endorsement of her candidacy.