THE enactment of the Metropolitan Davao Development Authority (MDDA) will maximize the potential of the local government units (LGUs) in Davao, which will propel the economic performance of the region, the Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) said.
President Rodrigo Duterte signed on Wednesday, April 27, Republic Act (RA) 11708 or “An Act creating Metropolitan Davao Development Authority,” establishing the special development and administrative region to be known as Metropolitan Davao, which consists of six cities and nine municipalities.
According to RA 11708, Metropolitan Davao includes Davao City; the cities of Panabo, Tagum and Island Garden City of Samal in Davao del Norte; Digos City in Davao del Sur; Mati City in Davao Oriental; and the municipalities of Sta. Cruz, Hagonoy, Padada, Malalag, and Sulop in Davao del Sur, Carmen in Davao del Norte, Maco in Davao de Oro, and Malita and Sta Maria in Davao Occidental.
In a forwarded statement, Minda Deputy Executive Director Assistant Secretary Romeo Montenegro welcomed the enactment of the MDDA.
"This is aligned with our long-term assumption of how metropolis is going to evolve and emerge in Mindanao in the next few years, which is also espoused in the Metro Davao Urban Master Plan," Montenegro said.
"As we have always highlighted through the Mindanao Corridors (strategy), there is no ‘one size fits all’ strategies in Mindanao and everything is incumbent on the strengths and peculiarity of the areas," Montenegro added.
He said Minda is expecting that the MDDA will "further propel the economic performance" of the region.
National Economic and Development Authority (Neda)-Davao Assistant Director Gilberto Altura said in a press conference on Thursday, April 28, that the MDDA will help the region in identifying programs and projects, not only in the infrastructure, but also in other sectors such as water utilities and other services.
"The development of the areas will be enhanced, rather than it may insist separately as LGUs," Altura said.
He added that the MDDA would further help attract investors in the region.
Regional Development Council (RDC) in Davao Region and Davao de Oro Governor Jayvee Tyron Uy, in a statement, said the body will boost and improve development planning, transport management, waste disposal, flood control, urban renewal, zoning, and land use, among others, in particular kick-off cities and towns in the region.
"Rest assured that we will work hard for this. We believe that the success of this initiative will usher a new era of development not only in our region, but also in the entire island of Mindanao. After all, the development of our land contributes to the overall development of the country," Uy said.
Senator Christopher "Bong" Go said in a statement that the MDDA law will help address the growing needs of this city and nearby areas through the services it will provide.
Go, who co-sponsored the measure in the Senate, said the law will also benefit the entire Mindanao.
“This will benefit Mindanao as a whole. It is imperative that we create an agency which can centralize and oversee the development efforts and initiatives that deal with the challenges faced by Davao,” the senator said.