DAVAO CITY --- A milestone for Mindanao was realized Wednesday (17 February) after the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Act of 2010 was finally enacted into law.

The MinDA Act or Republic Act 9996 was signed Wednesday by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, ending five decades of long wait for the creation of a Mindanao-wide body that would integrate peace and development efforts in Mindanao.

Previous advocacy pushing for the creation MinDA dates back to 1961.

The Act is a consolidation of House Bill No. 6958 and Senate Bill No. 3946, which was passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on January 26, 2010.

Strengthening the existing Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo), “the MinDA shall promote, coordinate and facilitate the active and extensive participation of all sectors to effect the socio-economic development of Mindanao”.

As an institutional mechanism, the MinDA “shall be established to address the need for a coordinated and integrated approach in the formulation and implementation of various Mindanao-wide inter-regional development plans, programs and projects”.

The MinDA will hold office in Maramag, Bukidnon and may establish area management offices (AMOs).

“The MinDA shall cover all the provinces and cities of Regions IX, X, XI, XII, Caraga and the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)”, Section 4 of the Act states.

It shall also cover Palawan as a focus area for the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) along with Mindanao. The MinDA shall act as the official and permanent Philippine Coordinating Office for BIMP-EAGA.

“PGMA has shown again her great concern for Mindanao when signed into law MinDA and now we Mindanaons must support this agency to make it successfully perform its functions,” said Deputy House Speaker Simeon Datumanong, who is one of the principal authors of the bill’s Congress version.

The other principal authors of the Congress version are Cong. Datu Pax Mangudadatu of Sultan Kudarat and Cong. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro while co-authors include 37 Congressmen from the Mindanao bloc. Meanwhile, the Senate version of MinDA Bill is principally authored by Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri and co-authored by Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Edgardo Angara, Manny Villar, Richard Gordon, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Lito Lapid, Jinggoy Ejercito-Estrada, Ramon Revilla, Loren Legarda, Mar Roxas, Pia Cayetano and Juan Ponce Enrile. “We Mindanaonons are so thankful to PGMA for signing the MINDA Bill into law.

This law will establish Mindanao-wide agency for the comprehensive integrated and faster development of Mindanao,” Rodriguez said.

“This MinDA will not only bring in more funds and projects for Mindanao but will likewise serve as the engine of development of Mindanao as part of the BIMP-EAGA,” he said.

Rodriguez said that as principal co-author he is glad to have helped advance the cause of Mindanao for peace and development.

“The signing of the MinDA Bill into law is a historic milestone for Mindanao because this heralds the end of a decades-long wait and long-felt need for Mindanao to have a permanent development agency,” said Undersecretary Virgilio Leyretana, MEDCo Chairman.

“This is a landmark piece of legislation which will be a legacy of President Arroyo, as well as the Congress and the Senate, to Mindanao,” he said.

Leyretana said that about 18 ad hoc bodies had been overseeing Mindanao development through the years, but were either emasculated, replaced, absorbed by other agencies, or abolished altogether with a change in national leadership.

During her visit here last Tuesday, President Arroyo said she is excited to sign the bill as she was also once authored the bill when she was senator.

Various sectors in Mindanao have been rallying strongly for the passage of the bill in view of the need for Mindanao to catch up with mainstream national development.

Source: Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo)