Bicameral committee OK's creation of new Mindanao body

Lawmakers are expected to ratify today a bill that seeks to form a Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) after a bicameral conference committee approved a reconciled version on Tuesday. Lawmakers from the Senate and House of Representatives have consolidated Senate Bill 3496 and House Bill 6958, which seek to accelerate growth and development in Mindanao by setting up a central planning agency for the entire island. The bill 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. MEDCo Chairman and Undersecretary Virgilio L. Leyretana, Sr. described the current body as a mere ad hoc coordinating agency. If enacted, the measure will empower the new agency to enforce policies and programs for the island, he said in a phone interview. MinDA recommendations, however, would still have to be approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). 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. Mindanao, he said needs a more permanent structure if its promise as a resource-rich island is to be realized. Camarines Sur Rep. Felix R. Alfelor, Jr., chairman of the House panel in the bicameral committee, said the body would also act as the Philippine coordinating office for the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-the Philippines East-Association of Southeast Asian Nations Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), especially for projects that will be implemented here. Senator Edgardo J. Angara, Senate panel chairman, agreed to a proposal by the House panel to rename the agency as MinDA from Mindanao Economic Development Authority (MEDA), saying development should encompass economic, social and political realms. MinDA will be under the Office of the President and its chairman will have a Cabinet rank. Today, MEDCo is under NEDA supervision. The measure is set for ratification by both chambers today. Leyretana noted that it took 19 years to get the measure to where it is now. "This is not only a landmark bill because it took us 19 years to get through the legislative mill." The 8th Congress ratified the MEDA bill in 1991, but this was vetoed by Mrs. Aquino, who instead issued Executive Order 512 forming MEDCo. — Bernard U. Allauigan, BusinessWorld