Zubiri, Piñol spar over Mindanao Development Authority’s mandate

MANILA, Philippines — Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri and Mindanao Development Authority (MinDa) chairman Emmanuel Piñol on Tuesday had a brief verbal exchange about the function of the Mindanao-centered agency after the senator noticed that MinDa’s projects for 2021 were mostly agriculture-based.

During the Senate finance committee hearing on MinDa’s P172 million proposed budget for 2021, Zubiri first noticed that Piñol was presenting projects mainly focused on agriculture.

Before Piñol became MinDa chair, he was secretary of the Department of Agriculture from June 2016 to August 2019.

“With all due respect, MinDa is starting to sound like the Mindanao department of agriculture,” Zubiri told Piñol.

“You’re supposed to be the [National Economic Development Authority] NEDA of Mindanao,” he added.

But Piñol said: “You have to understand Mindanao’s economy is mainly on agriculture and fisheries.

“And since this is the foundation of our economy, I have always believed that building strong agriculture, fisheries would lead to the building of industries, would lead to the production of products that would be loaded in the trains that we are intending to establish in Mindanao,” he added.

However, Zubiri said: “As the author of the law, let me just remind you, we created MinDa as a NEDA for Mindanao. Meaning when I say NEDA, almost all major infrastructure projects that would boost the economy of Mindanao is lodged into your department. That was the intention of the law.”

The senator then asked Piñol if he prepared a presentation of the infrastructure projects that will be built in Mindanao.

But such infrastructure projects, Piñol said, are already “on the go.”

Still, Piñol said his agency will submit an update on the major flagship projects in Mindanao.

“We don’t have it ready right now for our presentation because we were focusing on the COVID-19 recovery efforts,” Piñol told Zubiri.

As per the Mindanao Development Authority Act of 2010 or the Republic Act 9996, MinDa was created to “promote, coordinate and facilitate the active and extensive participation of all sectors to affect the socioeconomic development of Mindanao.”

KGA