NO one is happier than House Deputy Speaker Isidro T. Ungab after the Senate approved House Bill 8930.

The bill establishING the Metropolitan Davao Development Authority was approved on third and final reading.

Representing Davao’s third district, Congressman Ungab hails the bill which aims to change the socio-economic landscape, growth and development of Davao Region.

Ungab, HB 8930’s principal author and sponsor at the Lower House, said the creation of Metropolitan Davao Development Authority, consisting of six cities and nine municipalities in the Davao Region and which shall be known as Metropolitan Davao, is in response to the region’s fast growth and peculiar urbanization.

Metropolitan Davao will include Davao City, the cities of Panabo, Tagum and Island Garden City of Samal in Davao del Norte, Digos City in Davao del Sur, Mati City 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.

The MDDA creation is one of the initiatives of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, being the head of the Metropolitan Davao Development Coordinating Committee or MDDCC, a special committee under the Regional Development Council -Davao Region.

The creation of MDDA will assure stronger coordination among Metro Davao’s component cities and municipalities in the planning, implementation and monitoring of priority programs and projects.

Ungab is confident that with the MDDA creation the need for a synchronized and unified development in the Davao region will now be addressed.

He expressed his profound thanks to Senate Committee on Local Government Chairman Francis Tolentino who spearheaded the passage of the bill at the Upper House.

The experience of Senator Tolentino as former chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority greatly contributed to the polishing and fine-tuning of the MDDA Bill, Ungab explained.

Ungab also thanked the co-authors of the MDDA bill in the Senate, namely, Senators Bato dela Rosa, Imee Marcos, Bong Go and Majority Floor Leader Migs Zubiri.

In Quezon City meanwhile, there’s a pledge to build new molecular diagnostic laboratories to provide Quezon City’s 2.94 million residents with “transformative point-of-care screening services for multiple diseases, including the next pandemic virus.”

The residents of Quezon City deserve access to world-class automated testing services for diseases, and tested leaders who want change in the locality are determined to give it to them.

It is intended to put up at least three molecular testing labs – one each for the Quezon City General Hospital, the Novaliches District Hospital, and the Rosario Maclang Bautista General Hospital.

At present, the three hospitals run by the Quezon City government do not have their own molecular screening labs. They end up outsourcing all their specimen testing to private facilities, thus causing holdups in patient diagnosis and treatment.

Delays in patient diagnosis and treatment during a public health emergency should not be allowed.

The envisioned molecular testing labs would run on the “gold standard” GeneXpert platform. They would be capable of detecting not only COVID-19 and the next pandemic virus, but also a wide range of diseases, such as multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis, cervical cancer, breast cancer, bladder cancer, and meningitis.

Opposition candidates led by mayoralty bet Mike Defensor are pursuing a ‘world-class’ government for the city.

The World Class phrase was coined for top Quezon City policymaker Winston Castelo or WC who is Defensor’s running mate for the second highest position in the local government.

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