Bishops, Ulamas, Pastors urge signing of MinDA Bill
(February 2, 2010)
DAVAO CITY—The Bishops-Ulama Conference (BUC) is calling on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to sign the ratified Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) bill, a landmark bill that seeks to accelerate growth in Mindanao by setting up a permanent development agency for the entire island.
The BUC, an interfaith forum for Mindanao bishops, pastors and Muslim religious leaders to promote local peace and development, has cited the urgent need for a Mindanao-wide institution that will ensure a permanent and integrated peace and development mechanism in the island-region.
“We would like to reiterate our call for Her Excellency’s approval of the MinDA bill as this would be a landmark achievement and a meaningful Presidential legacy to Mindanao that will reinforce Her Excellency’s pursuit for a principled, secure and enduring peace in Mindanao,” said Archbishop Fernando Capalla in a statement.
He added that the conference is encouraged by Her Excellency’s commitment to pursue peace and development in Mindanao by giving attention to the clamor for a
permanent development mechanism in the island-region.
Once signed into law, BUC said that the MinDA bill will enhance the potential role of Mindanao as the bridge to all cultures in this country and in BIMP-EAGA, as well as the linchpin of our country’s security and national interest.
“We believe that Her Excellency’s final approval of MinDA can effectively and immediately respond to various requirements of peace and development efforts in Mindanao,” said Capalla.
The BUC’s endorsement of the MinDA Bill was brought to the attention of President Arroyo during the 37th General Assembly of the Bishops-Ulama Conference (BUC) held 29 October 2009 in Davao City. President Arroyo then immediately certified the bill as urgent, which then followed by the bill’s passage at the bicameral level.
Last 26 January, Senate and Congress representatives have ratified the reconciled version of the MinDA Bill a week after it was harmonized and approved by the joint panel of Senators and Congressmen in a bicameral committee meeting held last 19 January.
The legislation seeks to strengthen and rename the existing Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo), which was formed in March 1992 through Executive Order 512 issued by the late President Corazon C. Aquino.
If enacted, MinDA will be established as an institutional mechanism that will address the need for a coordinative and integrative approach for the formulation and implementation of various inter-regional and/or Mindanao-wide development plans, programs and projects.
In Congress, the MinDA bill is principally authored by Deputy House Speaker Simeon Datumanong and Sultan Kudarat Representative Datu Pax Mangudadatu and co-authored by 37 congressmen from the Mindanao bloc.
At the Senate, the bill is principally authored by Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri and co-authored by Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Edgardo Angara, Manny Villar, Richard Gordon, Lito Lapid, Jinggoy Ejercito-Estrada, Ramon Revilla, Loren Legarda and Mar Roxas.
The MinDA Bill has been pushed in view of the need for Mindanao to catch up with the mainstream national development. Previous advocacies for the creation of the first Mindanao Development Authority (MDA) dates back to 1960.
The 8th Congress ratified the MEDA bill in 1991, but this was vetoed by Mrs.
Aquino, who instead issued Executive Order 512 forming MEDCo, described as a mere ad hoc coordinating agency.
Undersecretary Virgilio Leyretana, chairman of the Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo), expressed hope that the bill will be signed into law the soonest, noting that the enactment of MinDA will be President Arroyo’s legacy to Mindanao who enunciated earlier in her presidency that “we cannot attain our full national development without coming to terms with the problems in Mindanao.”
Leyretana said about 18 ad hoc bodies had been overseeing Mindanao development through the years, meaning they were replaced, absorbed by other agencies, or abolished altogether with a change in national leadership.
Various stakeholders from the business, religious, academe, youth sectors as well as industry leaders in Mindanao have long been rallying a strong call for a permanent mechanism that would ensure a strong voice for Mindanao in the national agenda.
These include the Mindanao Business Council, League of Municipalities in the Philippines (LMP), Regional Development Councils of Caraga, IX and XII, Mindanao Studies Consortium Inc., Mindanao Indigenous Peoples Conference for Peace and Development (MIPCPD), SOCSKSARGEN Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries, Inc (SFFAI), Southern Philippine Deep Sea Fishing Association (SoPhil), Ulama League of the Philippines-Region XI; Sarangani-General Santos Local CIQS Coordinating Council (LQCC), among others.
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