LAKAS-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) vice presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte on Monday thanked the lawmakers who crafted the Metropolitan Davao Development Authority (MDDA) law, saying that the resulting agency would be of great benefit to Dabawenyos, if not the entire population of Mindanao.

“Malaki ang matutulong nito dito sa Davao region dahil meron pong three areas may collaboration yung mga LGUs (local government units) na part ng Metropolitan Davao,” Duterte said in an interview Monday over Net 25’s Sa Ganang Mamamayan.

Her father, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, recently signed into law Republic Act (RA) 11708 or “An Act Creating Metropolitan Davao Development Authority.”

“Of course nagpapasalamat ako sa mga members of the House of Representatives galing sa Davao region especially kay [Davao] congressman Isidro Ungab dahil siya po yung nag-push nito dyan sa House of Representatives,” Duterte said.

She also gave special mention to Sen. Francis Tolentino, who incidentally was co-hosting the Net 25 program.

“And to you Senator Francis lagi akong nagpapasalamat dahil tinulungan mo rin kami sa Senate dito sa batas, Metropolitan Davao na batas and of course sa iba pang mga senators natin,” Duterte added.

The MDDA cover Davao City and the nearby cities of Panabo, Tagum, and Samal in Davao del Norte; Digos in Davao del Sur; Mati in Davao Oriental; and the municipalities of Sta. Cruz, Hagonoy, Padada, Malalag and Sulop in Davao del Sur; Carmen in Davao del Norte; Maco in Davao de Oro; and Malita and Sta. Maria in Davao Occidental.

Although the MDDA is Davao region-centric, the agency is expected to benefit the entirety of Mindanao given how important Davao is to the southern island group.

Duterte, Lakas-CMD and regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) chairperson, enumerated the way that the MDDA could help her home region. “Unang una po sa peace and order dahil wala naman kaseng borders na tinitignan ang kriminalidad at illegal na activities so minsan yung mga nangyayari sa kapitbahay namin ay connected din dito sa amin.”

“Pangalawa is solid waste management dahil meron tayong maliliit na LGUs na hindi nila kaya na magtayo ng landfill or iba pang mga sistema for solid waste management so maganda ‘yung merong collaborative effort yung mga LGUs on this matter,” she said.

“And of course traffic management and transportation dahil nagshe-share din kami ng mga residents dito sa Davao City and sa mga kapitbahay namin so meron kaming exchange of people lagi everyday, thousands ang exchange namin both sides north and south dahil yung iba nakatira dito sa Davao City nagtatrabaho sa kapitbahay namin or yung mga kapitbahay namin nagtatrabaho sa Davao City,” the presidential daughter added.

“Hopefully kung sino po ‘yung mapiling chair ng Metropolitan Davao ay mapagplanuhan nila ng maayos at ma-execute nila in the soonest possible time ‘yung collaboration,” Duterte further said.

Tolentino co-hosted the program with veteran broadcasters Nelson Lubao and Gen Subardiaga.