Voting 23-0, the Senate approved on third and final reading House Bill No. 8930, which seeks the creation of the Metropolitan Davao Development Authority (MDDA).
Sen. Francis Tolentino, chair of the Senate Committee on Local Government and sponsor of the measure, said the establishment of the MDDA institutionalizes the rapid urbanization of the Davao region through strategic and viable reforms primarily towards regional cooperation and economic growth.
“By agglomerating the major cities and municipalities of the region, the MDDA will further liberalize the local government units within its jurisdiction from their dependence upon the national government and promote a sustained and all-inclusive decentralization in the region,” Tolentino said in his privilege speech on Monday, January 17.
Tolentino further stressed the importance of passing the bill into law “especially during this time of a global public health crisis.”
“As we continue to implement post pandemic recovery efforts in the country, we are witnessing that critical decisions such as vaccine distribution, curfew implementation, and community quarantine measures are made not by each local government unit but in unison through metropolitan councils or regions,” the senator said.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to fore urban pandemic resilience and encouraged economic cooperation and interlinked health strategies among neighboring LGUs,” he said.
“Moreover, the uniform decision-making made by metropolitan councils makes more sense given the geographical contiguity of local government units and the state of urban mobility in the country,” Tolentino added.
Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, who hails from Davao City, also welcomed the Senate’s approval of the measure.
“With the passage of the MDDA bill, I am confident that the proper coordination in the delivery of metro-wide services will economically benefit the people in the largest metropolitan area in the southern part of the Philippines, Metro Davao,” Dela Rosa said, also in a privilege speech.
“As I have constantly emphasized, the creation of the MDDA will give rise to strong coordination in development planning in the region, thereby, assuring steadfast achievement of sustainable inclusive economic growth which will ultimately redound to the benefit of our national economy,” he added.
“As a Davaoeño and a Mindanaoan myself, I am looking forward to finally see Mindanao as no longer the backdoor of the Philippines but as the new gateway to the Philippines for businesses and investments,” Dela Rosa stressed.