Senate passes MEDA bill

The Senate approved on third and final reading early last week the bill creating the Mindanao Economic Development Authority (MEDA) which will become a permanent agency that will integrate Mindanao ‘s socio-economic development.
Senate Bill 3496< or MEDA Bill, was unanimously approved on third reading after the senators agreed to adopt House Bill 6958, the counterpart bill approved by Congress on 16 November, as the final version.
The passage of the MEDA Bill will pave the way for the creation of a permanent Mindanao body that will integrate and harmonize peace and development efforts in Mindanao . It has also been pushed in view of the need for Mindanao to catch up with the mainstream national development.
“I think our Filipino leaders had seen the potentials of Mindanao a long time ago. Despite efforts to develop the island-region, it has never been done on a continuing and sustained basis,” Senator Edgardo Angara, co-sponsor of the bill, said.
Given Mindanao’s vast potentials and strategic geographical location, he said he would like to see Mindanao transform from being a backdoor to becoming the country’s front door to greater economic opportunities, particularly in the East ASEAN region.
“An institution like MEDA can help us achieve that vision,” added Angara, who chaired the Senate sub-committee on MEDA under the Senate committee on economic affairs which reviewed and deliberated on the bill before it went through second and final reading.
Senator Richard Gordon, co-sponsor of the bill, said in an earlier statement that the bill is important to Mindanao which has been an “unfulfilled promise.” He noted that without the necessary socio-economic, infrastructure and policy support which can be hastened by having a permanent development mechanism, Mindanao will not prosper.
“When this authority is established, I would like to see Mindanao become a fulfilled promise — not tomorrow, but today,” Gordon said.
Undersecretary Virgilio Leyretana, chairman of the Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo), lauded the Senators for passing the bill as it only validates the Senate’s commitment to develop Mindanao and accelerate the region’s inclusion in the mainstream of the national body politic.
“The enactment of the MEDA Bill is seen to enhance the potential role of Mindanao as the bridge to all cultures in this country and in BIMP-EAGA, as well as the linchpin of our country’s security and national interest,” Leyretana said.
General provisions of the MEDA proposal seek to strengthen the existing Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo) by converting it into a permanent MEDA.
Established in 1992 through EO 512, MEDCo operates as the only existing Mindanao-wide government mechanism that provides a coordinated and rationalized platform for program implementation and monitoring, investment promotion and policy advocacy for Mindanao .  [MEDCo]