THERE are no budget cuts for the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) in the coming 2026 budget, says MinDA chairperson Secretary Leo Tereso Magno.
Instead of a cut, there will be a funding hike of 36 percent under the Marcos administration for Fiscal Year 2026.
“There is a mistake in whoever said that there is a 40 percent slash in the budget of MinDA; that is a wrong statement. You are comparing the whole budget versus the NEP (National Expenditure Program), NEP-to-NEP tumaas po budget natin (If you compare NEP to NEP, our budget actually increased),” Magno said in a reply to a question from a reporter about the MinDA budget cut.
Data from the NEP shows that the DBM (Department of Budget and Management) has proposed a P363.49 million budget for 2026, which is higher than the 2025 NEP of P267.360 million.
“That is what we (MinDA) do, we try to advocate for an increase in budget,” Magno said during the press conference held during the 2025 Mindanao Development Forum in Davao City.
Magno said during the Mindanao Development Forum, they are gathering stakeholders to advocate for the needs of each province in Mindanao.
The Mindanao bloc in the House of Representatives came to the rescue by pledging unified support in ensuring that the higher budget allocation for MinDA is intact or even increased as the deliberations for the 2026 General Appropriations Act move forward.
The legislators have cited the vital role of MinDA as the primary coordinating body for Mindanao development, linking infrastructure, investment, and peace programs with national planning.
The MinDA chair says that MinDA, being a young agency, just 15 years old, plays a crucial role not just for the region but for the whole country as well.
“We have to understand MinDA’s role in the development of Mindanao, and the whole country is not time-tested; we have to admit that, but there is such an agency that is trying to advocate, trying to tell everyone that there is such an agency that thinks about the development for the whole of Mindanao,” Magno said. PIA DAVAO