Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo L. Neri (third from left) highlights the importance of achieving decentralized development as he addresses participants to the finalization workshop of the Asian Development Bank Institute Research Project on “Policies and Institutions for Advancing Regional Development: The Philippines in Comparative East Asian Context.” He congratulated the project leaders, members and funders of the project for taking stock of the records in regional development by other countries, putting together lessons learned, and drawing implications for the Philippines for Part One, and for Part Two, detailing the Philippine experience in regional development policies and institutions. Secretary Neri is flanked by (from left) Mr. Hal Hill of the Australian National University, Mr. Tom Crouch, ADB Country Director (Philippines), and Mr. Arsenio Balisacan, UP School of Economics.