Noting that Davao is seven times the size of Metro Manila, Davao City 1st district Rep. Paolo Duterte has called for the immediate implementation of the law creating the Metropolitan Davao Development Authority (MDDA) down south.
Duterte was referring to Republic Act (RA) No.11708 or the MDDA law.
“We should not delay anymore the implementation of the law creating the MDDA. Metro Davao is seven times the size of Metro Manila and even bigger than the land area of Singapore. The MDDA is necessary so that the development plans of the cities and municipalities comprising Metro Davao will move in a synchronized path that is beneficial to all,” Duterte said in a statement Wednesday, Nov. 23.
He said the development of Metro Davao, which serves as the economic and administrative core of the Davao Region and the entire Mindanao, requires a unified approach to lessen, or even nip in the bud, the problems that plague fragmented urban communities.
“We can save Metro Davao from haphazard planning and transform it into a smart, sustainable, and resilient metropolis if the Metro Davao Development Authority can start doing its job,” added Duterte, who was one of the principal authors of the MDDA law in the 18th Congress.
The cities of Davao, Panabo, Tagum, Island Garden in Samal, Digos, and Mati, as well as the municipalities of Sta. Cruz, Hagonoy, Padada, Malalag, Sulop, Carmen, Maco, Malita, and Sta. Maria in the Davao Region will comprise the MDDA, as per RA No.11708.
Duterte, a second-term solon(, described Metro Davao as one of the fastest growing regional economies in the country.
Metro Davao, he noted, spurred the pre-pandemic growth of the Davao Region to 7 percent in 2019, making it the country’s third fastest regional economy.
Even amid a pandemic, the Davao Region continued its economic expansion at 5.9 percent in 2021, which is above the national level, said Duterte citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Under the law, the Metropolitan Davao Development Council (MDDC) will serve as the MDDA’s governing board and policy-making body.
The Davao Regional Development Council began drafting the MDDA law’s implementing rules and regulations or IRR, initial budget, as well as the MDCC’s staffing pattern in May 2022. The final outputs will be endorsed to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
The MDDA law was signed by former president Rodrigo Duterte in April 2022, or within the last two months of his term. He of the father of Rep. Duterte.