DAVAO City Councilor Maria Belen "Mabel" Acosta is set to become the eighth chairperson of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) after she announced her resignation as councilor on January 11, 2022.
Acosta made the announcement during the 19th City Council regular session, which was also her last attendance as a councilor.
She said she had received her appointment as Minda chair on Friday, January 7.
"It is with sadness that I hereby tender my resignation as councilor of the first congressional district of Davao City," Acosta said while being emotional during her speech at the City Council Session Hall.
In her privilege speech, she thanked her colleagues and supporters after working as a councilor for 18 non-consecutive years.
The councilor nominated her daughter, Luna Maria Dominique Acosta, to be her successor in the position.
Acosta cited the rules of succession in Memorandum Circular 151, series of 1992 in nominating her daughter.
She also said she sent a letter to Davao City Mayor and Hugpong ng Pagbabago chairperson Sara Duterte-Carpio for certification and nomination as a party member for Luna to assume as first district councilor on her behalf.
“Rest assured, that Luna shall perform the duties and responsibilities of her position to the best of her abilities,” the incoming Minda chair said.
In a previous SunStar Davao report, Luna has worked as her mother’s legal staff and eventually head since 2013. She is also set to run for the 2022 elections under the same position.
The former councilor had served the Council for 18 non-consecutive years: 2001-2010, and 2013-2021.
In 2010, Acosta ran for first district House Representative but was defeated by former representative and current Acting Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles.
She had also served in various organizations such as the Lady Local Legislators League of the Philippines, National Movement of Young Legislators, and the Philippine Councilors League.
Acosta has obtained her Masters in Management, Major in Development Management from the University of the Philippines-Mindanao. She was awarded as one of the Ten Most Outstanding Councilors of the Philippines in 2009, and a Career Executive Service (Ceso) Eligible.
Acosta started her career as a broadcaster for ABS-CBN Davao and DXAB AM 1296 after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Mass Communications from the University of the Philippines-Diliman. She hosted the weekly TV program “Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa”, alongside then Davao City Mayor now President Rodrigo Duterte.
During her tenure in the council, she handled the committee of education, special publications, and peace and public safety.
Among the notable ordinances Acosta lobbied and passed is City Ordinance 092-2000, or the Signage Ordinance of Davao City, which prohibits obstruction of the view of Mt. Apo.
The ordinance became controversial as Davao Billboard and Signmakers Association (Dabasa) Incorporated, wherein they filed a case on March 28, 2006 for the injunction and declaration of nullity of the ordinance. But on February 21, 2018, the Supreme Court (SC) released a decision that reversed and set aside the previous decisions of the RTC and the Court of Appeals.
Acosta filed an ordinance that will require establishments to install photo-luminescent or glow-in-the-dark signage leading to stairwells, pathways, and all available emergency exits, in response to the safety issues related to the NCCC Mall fire that left 38 people dead.
The councilor had also passed ordinances in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, including the mandatory reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for travelers landing at Francisco Bangoy International Airport, and the penalty for those who will refuse to undergo Covid-19 testing.
Meanwhile, Minda confirmed on Tuesday, January 11, the appointment of Acosta as its new chairperson.
"Congratulations on your new role in advancing Mindanao," MinDA said in a statement.
Acosta will serve as the eighth MinDA chairperson and the second Mindanaoan female leader to head the agency. The first was Luwalhati Antonino from 2010 to 2016.
The resigned councilor will be replacing Secretary Emmanuel "Manny" Piñol, who served from August 5, 2019 to October 5, 2021. Piñol resigned from his post to run as a senator in the 2022 elections.