DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/20 May) – Is there a new chair of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA)?
President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. reportedly appointed on May 13 Leo Tereso Abellera Magno, as the new MinDA chair, replacing Secretary Maria Belen Sunga-Acosta, whose six-year term is supposed to end in January 2028.
Acosta, a former six-term councilor and television news anchor, told MindaNews Monday noon that she had not received an official communication from Malacanang about her supposed removal from MinDA, the office tasked to “promote, coordinate and facilitate the active and extensive participation of all sectors to effect the socioeconomic development of Mindanao.”
Magno was appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. as Presidential Assistant for Eastern Mindanao in November 2022 with the rank of Secretary, and as Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security (CORDS) for Southern Mindanao in July 2023.
In an “official statement” posted at 8:29 p.m. Monday on the social media page of the MinDA Secretary, Acosta said the position of MinDA chair is “not officially vacant” so “a replacement is not warranted.”
RA 9996, the law that created the MinDa in 2010, mandates that the chair has a fixed term of six years “unless removed for cause.”
Acosta said she has “no pending civil, criminal, or administrative cases and has never been convicted of any crime.” She also said she has been “recognized by various agencies and organizations for good governance and exemplary brand of public service.”
She vowed to “continue to diligently and consistently perform her mandate with regularity and strong commitment for the integrated development of Mindanao” and as the Philippine Signing Minister for Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) since she assumed post on January 11, 2022.
Acosta stressed that consistency in the enforcement of the MinDA law “is vital to the stability of safeguarding the gains of peace and development in Mindanao.”
She called on “Mindanawons and all Filipino peace-loving defenders of democracy” to uphold the spirit and intent of the law that created MinDA. “It should not be taken lightly, or arbitrarily set aside, or diminished, or used for purposes other than what the law intended,” she said.
The MinDA chair is appointed by the President and holds a Cabinet rank. The chair is also the Philippine Senior Official for BIMP-EAGA and is also an ex officio member of the Board of the National Economic Development Authority and the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority Board.
The Davao City-based Newsline Philippines reported on Monday morning the appointment of Magno and posted a copy of his alleged appointment paper signed by Marcos on May 13.
MindaNews sought Magno for confirmation of his reported appointment. He has not responded as of 8 p.m. Monday.
MindaNews also inquired from Assistant Secretary Michael Andre del Rosario of the Presidential Communications Office on the appointment of a new MinDA chair. He said he has no information about a new MinDA chair but would check on it.
MinDA chairs
Then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed the MinDA bill into what is now RA 9996 on February 17, 2010. She appointed Dureza as chair on March 6. He took his oath two days later for a term that would have ended in March 2016 but was cut short when Dureza resigned on the third month of the Aquino Presidency, opting to relinquish the post “if P-Noy (President Aquino) wants somebody else.”
Luwalhati Antonino, former South Cotabato representative to Congress, took over in September 2010.
Acosta is MinDA’s 5thth chair since 2010. The first MinDA chair was Dureza, who had previously served in various positions in the Arroyo administration from 2001 to 2010. He served as MinDA chair for only six months. He was succeeded by Luwalhati Antonino (2010 to 2016).
When Rodrigo Duterte took over as President in 2016, he named Abul Khayr Alonto as Minda chair (2016 to 2019).
Alonto took over in September 2016. He did not complete his term because he passed away on May 9, 2022. He was succeeded by former Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol who served from August 14, 2019 to October 4, 2021 when he resigned to run for the Senate.
Acosta was appointed MinDA chair by then President Duterte in January 2022. She took hear oath on January 11, 2022. Her term is until January 2028 “unless removed for cause.”
Acosta was co-hosting “Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa,” the Sunday television program over ABS-CBN Davao of then 1st district Rep. Rodrigo Duterte (after serving as mayor from 1988 to 1998) when he urged her on the show to run for a seat in the City Council, saying she was sure to win.
6 months out of 6 years
Dureza wrote two memoranda for then President Benigno Simeon Aquino III coursed through Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, the first, on July 29, 2010 to offer to relinquish the post and the second, on August 10 to withdraw his offer and to continue to serve his remaining term given that the MinDA chair appointment is not a “midnight appointment.”
In his July 29 memorandum, Dureza said he would “voluntarily relinquish the position upon the assumption of the new Chair of your choice,” to “ensure a smooth and seamless transition and avoid any hiatus in the Authority’s operations.”
“My bottomline is I will relinquish if P-Noy wants somebody else,” Dureza said.
But in a memo dated August 10, Dureza again wrote the President, withdrawing his July 29 offer to relinquish the position, claiming the President’s Executive Order No. 2 issued August 4, had “clarified the status of my appointment as Chairman of the newly-created MinDA.”
Reports about the appointment of Antonino as the new MinDA chair started circulating and the announcement was reportedly going to be made at the start of the 12th Tuna Congress in General Santos City on September 3, 2010.
MindaNews asked Dureza then if the reports about Antonino’s appointment were true. His reply: “Maybe. Not officially informed yet,” but in a later message, he said, “I will relinquish if P-Noy wants somebody else.”
Former Senator and Trade Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas, the President’s representative to the Tuna Congress in General Santos announced Antonino’s appointment as MinDA chair on September 3, 2010.
Dureza served six months out of his six-year term as MinDA chair. (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)
