Davao City Councilor turned Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) chairperson Maria Belen Acosta. Image from MinDA / Facebook
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Maria Belen Acosta as chairperson of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), Malacañang confirmed on Wednesday.
Acosta, who was Davao City councilor prior to her appointment, will serve for a term of six years, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said.
“The Palace confirms that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed on January 6, 2022, the appointment of Maria Belen Sunga Acosta as Chairperson of Mindanao Development Authority for a term of six years,” Nograles said in a statement.
“We wish Chairperson Acosta all the best in her new assignment, and are confident that she will continue the initiatives her predecessors pursued to accelerate the socioeconomic growth of Mindanao,” added the acting presidential spokesperson.
According to MinDA, Acosta will be the eighth chairperson of the agency since its inception.
“As MinDA Chair, she will lead in coordinating, harmonizing, and integrating various socioeconomic development efforts for Mindanao with inter-regional, Mindanao-wide, and sub-regional impacts,” the agency said on a Facebook post on Tuesday.
“Secretary Acosta will also act as the Philippine Signing Minister leading the participation of Mindanao and Palawan as country’s EAGA focus areas in the BIMP-EAGA sub-regional cooperation, given MinDA’s mandate as the permanent Philippine Coordinating Office for BIMP-EAGA (PCOBE) under RA 9996,” it added.