MinDA has new chair---Dureza out; Antonino in

After weeks of speculation whether Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) chair Jesus Dureza will be replaced or will stay on, the people of Mindanao finally got an answer.

MinDA, which used to be known as the Mindanao Economic Development Council, was an offshoot of Republic Act 9996.

MinDA has a new chairperson after President Benigno Aquino III has accepted the resignation of Dureza, who would have been guaranteed a six-year term had he not resigned as MinDA chair.

Dureza handed in his resignation voluntarily to give Pnoy a chance to appoint a Chair of his own choice.

Former South Cotabato Representative Lualhati Antonino, mother of new General Santos Mayor Darlene Antonino-Custodio, has been formally designated by Pnoy as the new MinDA head during the opening of the 12th National Tuna Congress last Friday. The appointment was announced by former Senator Manuel Roxas who delivered the keynote speech for the Congress.

During an earlier interview and prior to his resignation, Dureza revealed his plans to relocate the MinDA office somewhere in Maramag to make it easily accessible to the other Mindanao cities and provinces.

P420M Davao Port Expansion Now 81.44% Complete

The P420.22 million Davao City Port project is already 81.44% completed and is expected to be fully complete by January 2009. This was the report made by Secretary Jesus Dureza during the 3rd National Government Infrastructure Forum held at the Marco Polo Hotel this morning.

Dureza said the rehabilitation of the quay is already completed and what remains to be done is the expansion of the port. The project, he said, started in August 2006.

The Davao Port Expansion project is only one among the many infrastructure projects for Mindanao being fast tracked by president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo before her term ends in 2010.

“We only have 600 working days to ensure we complete what needs to be completed,” Mindanao Economic Development Council undersecretary Virgilio Leyretana, Sr. said.

Leyterana said infrastructure enhances the delivery of services, encourages the mobility of people and opens new areas of economic development. He said Mindanao has always been referred to as a strategic region with rich natural resources but “without infrastructure we can’t hope that these resources will be used for the benefit of Mindanao and the whole country.

A total of P993.09 million worthy of seaport projects, including the Davao City Port project and the Cagayan de Oro Port Development Project (worth P572.87 million) are actually expected to be completed simultaneously by January next year, Dureza said.

The upgrading and rehabilitation of the Cagayan de Oro port has been completed and the construction of a back up area for the newly constructed wharf is already 93.37% complete.
All these projects are being fast tracked through the Pro-Performance System which is committed not only to the delivery of priority infrastructure projects but also in ensuring that the projects are implemented with full transparency.