Manila, April 25 -- Eastern Visayas' Regional Development Council (RDC) is laying out strategies to soften the economic impact of the shutdown of the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining (PASAR) Corp., the country's only copper smelter and refinery, located in Isabel, Leyte.

RDC vice chair, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) regional director Meylene Rosales, emphasized the need to bolster other economic sectors to offset the losses from PASAR's closure.

"In response, the RDC looks forward to immediate stakeholder dialogues aimed at mitigating the potential economic fallout," Rosales said in an interview Thursday.

In the face of this situation, the RDC pushed for the immediate conduct of dialogues among key stake...