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Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City

gy TIME 9:29 pm
NINETEENTH CONGRESS

First Regular Session

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House Bill No.__ 1613

Introduced by Representative Albert Raymond S. Garcia

EXPLANATORY NOTE

It is the policy of the State that the territorial and political subdivisions of 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.

This measure seeks to implement the above policy 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 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 approval 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 III — localities that serve as major engines
of growth in Luzon with approximately 42.3 million people and a combined GDP of
roughly PhP10.225 trillion or about 53% of the country’s GDP of PhP19.387
trillion. Rapid urbanization is expected to occur in the area.

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 urbanization due to poor planning and non-compliance with relevant laws,
rules and regulations.

Support for this bill is earnestly requested from my colleagugse

1d District, Bétaan

DATE _July 7, 2022

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Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City
NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 1613

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. - This Act shall be known as the “Metro Bataan
Development Authority Act.”

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
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


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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;

(4) 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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(a) 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;

(a) _ 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 Administrator 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;

(4) 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;

() 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

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Zambales, 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

(a) 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) Anordinance 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.


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(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 shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,