DAVAO CITY – Mindanao’s ambition of establishing a government body that would foster continuity and consistency of interregional and Mindanao-wide programs would soon come to light as bicameral legislators have passed the bills approving the creation of the said corporate body.

On Monday, the Upper House passed the Senate Bill (SB) 3496 or the Mindanao Economic Authority (MEDA) bill on third and final reading.

Senators and representatives will iron out differences in their respective versions of the bill in a bicameral conference before it is forwarded to the Office of the President for signing into law.

The president has earlier vowed to fast-track the said measure.

In mid-November, the Lower House approved the counterpart bill creating the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) which would strengthen the existing Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo).

Both bills are anchored on efforts to hasten the establishment of a more permanent development agency that has been left delayed for more than five decades.

Meanwhile, Undersecretary Virgilio Leyretana, MEDCo chair, lauded the Upper and Lower House for passing the bills which would serve as machinery for the socio-economic development of the country’s second largest island.

“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.

Based in Davao since 1992, MEDCo has been the lone Mindanao-wide development body that was institutionalized through Executive Order 512.