Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City

NINETEENTH CONGRESS

First Regular Session

House Bill No. 352

Introduced by Representative Maria Angela S. Garcia

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Bill seeks to implement the policy of the State embodied in Republic Act
No. 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991, which states
that “the State shall enjoy genuine and meaningful local autonomy to enable the
local governments to attain their fullest development as self-reliant communities and
make them more effective partners in the attainment of national goals”, through the
creation of the Metro Bataan Development Authority (MBDA) so as to integrate,
coordinate and promote socio-economic growth and sustainable development
between and among interdependent cities and municipalities in the Province of
Bataan and adjacent local government territories.

The MBDA is a government instrumentality proposed to be under the Office
of the President of the Philippines. It will primarily address developmental concerns
which are beyond the individual capacities of the member local government units.
With the forthcoming completion of the construction of the Bataan-Cavite Interlink
Bridge, Metro Bataan stands to become the center of the soon to be interconnected
National Capital Region, Region IV and Region lil — localities that serve as major
engines of growth in Luzon with approximately 42.3 million people and a combined
GDP of roughly PhP 10.225 trillion or about 53% of the country's GDP of PhP19.387
trillion. Rapid urbanization is expected to occur in the area.

Given the growing needs of the Province of Bataan and the anticipated
developments within the surrounding areas, there are development concerns that
can no longer be handled by the existing powers and resources given to the
provincial government.

Capitalizing on the cooperation and shared use of resources as well as the
financial support of the national government, the MBDA envisions a more efficient
and cost-effective implementation of development initiatives, programs and services
while seeking to avert the economically and environmentally costly effects of rapid

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urbanization due to poor planning and non-compliance with relevant laws, rules and
regulations. The MBDA envisioned to facilitate the emergence of Metro Bataan as
the primary alternative major urban center to Metro Manila.

Support for this bill is earnestly requested from my colleagues.

MARIA Al S. GARCIA
Third istrict, Bataan


Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

352

House Bill No.

Introduced by Representative Maria Angela S. Garcia

AN ACT
CREATING THE METRO BATAAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, DEFINING
ITS POWERS AND FUNCTIONS, AND PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Title
Development Authority Act.”

This Act shall be known as the “Metro Bataan

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is the declared policy of the State to adopt
a national dispersion through local agglomeration strategy to revitalize large cities,
coordinate their efforts and resources, and capacitate them for urban service
delivery.

Considering the rapid development and urbanization of the Province of
Bataan and the spatial, functional and economic interdependence of the province
with Olongapo City and the municipality of Subic, Zambales, it is likewise hereby
declared the policy of the State to consider these local government units (LGUs) as
special development and administrative zone, to be known as Metro Bataan.

SEC. 3. Creation of the Metro Bataan Development Authority. — There is
hereby created a government instrumentality under the Office of the President of
the Philippines to be known as the Metro Bataan Development Authority, hereinafter
referred to as “MBDA”, which shall be organized within thirty (30) days after the
approval of this Act, to coordinate and promote socio-economic growth and
sustainable development of Metro Bataan.

The MBDA shall execute the powers and functions herein vested: Provided,
That said powers and functions shall in no way diminish the autonomy of the LGUs

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of Metro Bataan concerning purely local matter, within the framework and subject to
the mandate and limitations of the Constitution and the pertinent provisions of
Republic Act No. 7160, otherwise known as the “Local Government Code of 1991.”

SEC. 4. Jurisdiction of the Metro Bataan Development Authority. - The
MBDA shall have jurisdiction over the City of Balanga and the municipalities of
Abucay, Bagac, Dinalupihan, Hermosa, Limay, Mariveles, Morong, Orani, Orion,
Pilar, and Samal, in Bataan; Olongapo City; and the municipality of Subic, in
Zambales, and such other cities and municipalities as shall be created in the future
within these LGUs as provided by law.

SEC. 5. Scope of Metro Bataan Development Authority Services. - The
services of the MBDA are delivered across boundaries to multiple and often
interdependent political entities whose activities impact each other significantly, and
entail huge expenditures such that it would not be viable for said services to be
provided by the individual LGUs. These services shall include:

(a) Development planning, which includes preparing medium and long-
term development plans; developing, evaluating and packaging of projects;
investment programming; and coordinating and monitoring plans, program and
project implementation;

(b) Transport management, which includes formulating, coordinating and
monitoring policies, standards, programs, and projects to rationalize the existing
transport operations, infrastructure requirements, and promotion of safe and
convenient movement of persons and goods; providing a mass transport system
and instituting a system to regulate road users; administering and implementing all
traffic enforcement operations, traffic engineering services and traffic education
programs, including instituting a single ticketing system within the MBDA jurisdiction:

(c) Solid waste disposal and management, which includes formulating
and implementing policies, standards, programs and projects for proper and sanitary
waste disposal; establishing and operating a sanitary landfill, such as waste-to-
energy technologies and implementing other alternative programs intended to
reduce, reuse and recycle solid waste;

(d) Flood control and sewerage management, which include formulating
and implementing polices, standards, programs and projects for an integrated flood
control, drainage and sewerage system;

(e) Urban renewal, zoning, land use planning and shelter services, which
includes formulating, adopting and implementing policies, standards, rules and
regulations, programs and projects to the rationalize and optimize urban land use
and provide direction to urban growth and expansion, rehabilitating and developing
slums and blighted areas, developing shelter and housing facilities, and providing
necessary social services thereof,

(f) Health and sanitation, urban protection, and pollution control, which
include formulating and implementing policies, rules and regulations, standards,
programs, and projects for promoting and safeguarding health and sanitation to
enhance ecological balance and prevent, control and abate environmental pollution;
and


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(g) Public safety, which includes formulating and implementing programs,
policies and procedures to achieve public safety, especially preparedness for
preventive or rescue operations during times of calamity and disaster such as
conflagration, earthquakes, flood; and coordinating and mobilizing resources and
implementing contingency plans for rehabilitation and relief operations in
coordination with national agencies concerned.

SEC. 6. Functions of the Metro Bataan Development Authority. - The
MBDA shall exercise the following functions:

(a) Formulate plans aligned to the regional and national development
objectives and priorities;

(b) Set policies concerning traffic, waste management, and public safety
and security for Metro Bataan and coordinate, regulate, and enforce the
implementation of these programs and projects with concerned national government
agencies and LGUs;

(c) Prepare and implement or manage metro-wide programs and projects
for the delivery of specific services under its jurisdiction, subject to the approval of
the Metro Bataan Development Council;

(d) Review and recommend to the Metro Bataan Development Council
policies regarding development permits for residential, commercial, or industrial
purposes and other major land development that have metro-wide impact on
transportation and traffic, proposed to be implemented by or in the LGUs within
Metro Bataan;

(e) Monitor the implementation of metro-wide programs and projects and
identify implementation issues and appropriate solutions to address them;

(f) Install and administer a single ticketing system, fix, impose, and collect
fines and penalties for all kinds of violations of traffic rules and regulations, whether
moving or non-moving in nature, and confiscate and suspend or revoke driver's
license in the enforcement of such traffic laws and regulations within the MBDA
jurisdiction;

(g) Prescribe and collect services and regulatory fees, and impose and
collect fines and penalties within the MBDA jurisdiction; and

(h) Perform other functions consistent with this Act, subject to approval by
the Metro Bataan Development Council.

‘SEC. 7. Metro Bataan Development Authority Administrator. —- The
MBDA shall be headed by an Administrator, to be appointed by the President of the
Philippines and chosen from a list of at least three (3) nominees submitted by the
Metro Bataan Development Council. The Administrator shall have a term of three
(3) years unless otherwise removed for cause in accordance with law, and have the
rights, rank, disqualifications, and prohibitions of an Undersecretary under existing
civil service rules and regulations. The Administrator shall not be related to any
member of the Council within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity.


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The Administrator shall be assisted by a Deputy Administrator for Finance
and Administration and a Deputy Administrator for Planning and Operations, both
of whom shall be appointed by the Administrator with the concurrence of the Council,
‘subject to civil service laws, rules and regulations. They shall enjoy security of tenure
unless otherwise removed for cause in accordance with law. The Deputy
Administrator for Finance and Administration and the Deputy Administrator for
Planning and Operations shall not be related to the Administrator or any member of
the Council within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity.

SEC. 8. Functions of the Administrator. - The Admii

istrator shall:

(a) Appoint, subject to civil service laws, rules and regulations, all
subordinate officers and employees, who shall enjoy security of tenure and may be
removed only for cause in accordance with law. The Administrator is authorized to
engage the services of experts or consultants either on full-time or part-time basis,
as may be required in the performance of his functions and duties;

(b) Execute the policies, measures, and programs approved by the Metro
Bataan Development Council and be responsible for the efficient and effective day-
to-day management of the operations of the MBDA;

(c) Prepare the annual budget for the operations of the MBDA for the
consideration and approval of the Metro Bataan Development Council;

(d) _ Submit for consideration of the Metro Bataan Development Council
such other duties and measures as may be deemed necessary to carry out the
purposes and provisions of this Act;

(e) Subject to the guidelines and policies set by the Metro Bataan
Development Council, prepare the staffing pattern and fix the number of subordinate
Officials and employees of the MBDA in accordance with civil service laws, rules and
regulations, and evaluation and approval of the Department of Budget and
Management (DBM) and exercise the power to discipline subordinate officials and
employees under the provisions of law;

(f) Supervise the operation of various operating centers and units of the
MBDA;

(g) | Formulate and recommend policies and programs to the Council for
the efficient delivery of metro-wide services;

(h) Prepare an annual report on the accomplishments of the MBDA at the
close of each calendar year for submission to the Metro Bataan Development
Council and the President of the Philippines;

(i) _ Perform such other duties and functions as may be assigned by the
President of the Philippines or by the Metro Bataan Development Council.

SEC. 9. Metro Bataan Development Council. — The governing board and
policy-making body of the MBDA shall be the Metro Bataan Development Council,
herein referred to as the Council, which shall be composed of the Governor of the
Province of Bataan as ex-officio Chairperson, the congressional representatives of
the Province of Bataan and the First Legislative District of the Province of Zambales,

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the mayors of the City of Balanga and the municipalities of Abucay, Bagac,
Dinalupihan, Hermosa, Limay, Mariveles, Morong, Orani, Orion, Pilar, Samal, in
Bataan and the mayors of Olongapo City and the municipality of Subic, Zambales,
as ex-officio members.

The Region Ill regional directors of the National Economic and Development
Authority (NEDA), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG),
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Public
Works and Highways (DPWH), Office of Civil Defense (OCD), and Philippine
National Police (PNP), and the administrators of the Authority of the Freeport Area
of Bataan (AFAB) and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) shall be ex-officio
members of the Council without voting rights.

SEC. 10. Functions of the Metro Bataan Development Council. - The
Council, as the policy-making body of the MBDA, shall exercise the following
functions:

(a) Approve development plans, investment programs, and projects after
consultation and coordination with the LGUs, Regional Development Council (RDC)
of Region Ill, and other stakeholders operating in the Metro Bataan area;

(b) Formulate and issue ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations
deemed necessary by the MBDA to carry out the purposes of this Act;

(c) Fix the compensation of the officers and personnel of the MBDA in
accordance with the Salary Standardization Law;

(d) | Recommend investment programming for its plans and programs, as
well as supervise the implementation of plans and programs which include the
formulation and coordination of its related activities;

(e) Coordinate and work closely with the Department of Transportation
(DoTR) and its attached agencies on the grant of franchises to safe, reliable and
environmentally-friendly public utility vehicles within the MBDA jurisdiction;

(f) Approve the annual budget of the MBDA for submission to the
Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and endorse the annual as well as
the supplemental budgets of MBDA; and

(g) | Perform such other acts and assume such other functions as may be
consistent and necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 11. Effectivity of Ordinances and Resolutions. —

(a) _ An ordinance or resolution passed by the Council, in the exercise of
its rule-making power as provided in Section 10 hereof, shall be posted in a bulletin
board at the entrance of the MBDA building and in at least two (2) other conspicuous
places in the office of the MBDA within ten (10) days from its approval and shall take
effect fifteen (15) days after such posting.


(b) Ordinance with penal sanctions shall be published in a newspaper of
general circulation within Metro Bataan and shall take effect fifteen (15) days
thereafter

SEC. 12. Institutional Linkages of the MBDA. - The MBDA shall, in
carrying out its functions, consult, coordinate and work closely with the LGUs, the
RDC of Region Ill, DPWH, DoTR and other national government agencies,
accredited people's organizations (POs), nongovernment organizations (NGOs),
and the private sector operating in Metro Bataan.

The MBDA shall adopt a master plan to be approved by the Council that shall
serve as the framework for the local development plans of the component LGUs.
For this purpose, the Council, through the MBDA, may require its ex-officio non-
voting members as well as other national government agencies and
instrumentalities to submit development plans and projects to be implemented within
its jurisdiction

The implementation of the MBDA's plans, programs and projects shall be
undertaken by the LGUs, the concerned national agencies, the POs, NGOs, and the
private sector and MBDA itself where appropriate. The MBDA may enter into
contracts or memoranda of agreement with these bodies for the delivery of required
services within Metro Bataan.

The MBDA shall, in coordination with the NEDA and the Department of
Finance (DOF) interface with foreign assistance agencies for the purpose of
obtaining financing support, grants and donations in support of its programs and
projects.

SEC. 13. Sources of Funds and Operating Budget of the MBDA. - The
amount necessary for the operations of the MBDA shall be included in the annual
General Appropriations Act.

The operations of the MBDA may likewise be supported through financial
contributions and technical assistance from members LGUs, national government
agencies and government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) and the
private sector, and other local and international organizations in the form of grants,
donations, contributions, payments, penalties and charges.

In case of grants, in cash or in kind, from foreign government or their agencies
or instrumentalities, or multilateral institutions or organization, acceptance thereof
shall be subject to prior clearance and approval of the Council and the President of
the Philippines or the authorized representative based on the recommendations of
the Secretary of Finance. In case of donation, in cash or in kind, from foreign
governments, acceptance thereof shall require prior clearance and approval by the
Council and the President of the Philippines, or the authorized representative based
‘on the recommendation of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs.

The MBDA is likewise empowered to levy fines and impose fees and charges
for various services rendered.

The Council shall undertake continuing negotiations among the member
LGUs and GOCCs to commit annual financial contributions for the operations of the
MBDA.


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SEC. 14, Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within ninety (90) days
from the approval of this Act, the Council shall promulgate the necessary rules and
regulations for the implementation of this Act.

SEC. 15. Separability Clause. - In case any part or provision of this Act is
held unconstitutional or invalid, other parts or provisions thereof which are not
affected shall continue to remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 16. Repealing Clause. — All laws, executive orders, rules and
regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with or contrary to the provisions of this Act
are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 17. Effectivity. — This Act shali take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,