WHEREAS, Proclamation No. 75 (s. 1999) declared the month of February as œCountryside Development Month; 

WHEREAS, there is a need to ensure that the framework for countryside development is consistent with the Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016 (PDP);

WHEREAS, both the 16-Point Agenda of the President and Executive Order (EO) No. 43 (s. 2011) highlight the importance of rural development in relation to economic growth as well as the need to recognize farms and rural enterprises as vital to achieving food security and more equitable economic growth, worthy of re-investment for sustained productivity;

WHEREAS, countryside development with focus on private initiative will encourage an effective, sustained and valuable development program that will provide gainful employment, ensure food security and enable families to improve their standard of living;

WHEREAS, a shift in the development strategies from urban centers to the countryside is a positive step towards national economic decentralization and the preparation of the country for greater economic cooperation with other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN);

WHEREAS, promoting mutually beneficial linkages between the countryside and the major markets through e-commerce will enable a simple and more efficient marketing strategy for countryside products; and

WHEREAS, the promotion and patronage of countryside products among local consumers will facilitate government and private efforts in developing the countryside.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BENIGNO S. AQUINO III, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby proclaim February of every year as Countryside Development Month.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) shall attend to its appropriate observance every year, in cooperation with local government units (LGUs).

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed.

DONE, in the City of Manila, this 1st day of August, in the year of our Lord, Two Thousand and Eleven.

	(Sgd.) BENIGNO S. AQUINO III
By authority of the President:
(Sgd.) PAQUITO N. OCHOA JR.
Executive Secretary