Metropolitan BLISTT Development Authority created under new law

By Marlo T. Lubguban

BAGUIO CITY -- The Metropolitan BLISTT Development Authority (MBLISTTDA) was officially created through Republic Act No. 11932 last July 30.
    BLISST stands for Baguio City and nearby Benguet towns of La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan,Tuba and Tublay.
    House Bill 9215 creating the MBLISTTDA was endorsed to the Office of the President last June 29 and lapsed into law 30 days later.
    HB 9215 was authored by Baguio City Rep. Mark Go and supported by the BLISTT governing and development councils through council resolutions.
    The law imbues the BLISTT inter-local cooperation with the capacity to implement high-impact BLISTT-wide projects and consolidate inter-local efforts to improve service delivery in the BLISTT.
    The MBLISTTDA Council composed of local chief executives of the BLISTT and province of Benguet will be the governing board and policy-making body of the development authority. They will select a chairperson among themselves that shall preside over meetings and will nominate candidates for MBLISTTDA Administrator that the President will appoint.
    The MBLISTTDA Administrator will serve a six-year term.
    The Administrator and the Council will nominate to the President three senior manager positions for operations, planning and finance and administration.
    Other non-voting members of the council include vice mayors of the BLISTT and representatives from NEDA, Departments  of Transportation, Public Works and Highways, Tourism, Information and Technology, Budget and Management, Housing and Development, Trade and Industry, Agriculture, Science and Technology, Commission on Higher Education, Philippine National Police, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and two additional.
    The MBLISTTDA will lead BLISTT area development planning and facilitate funding and implementation of BLISTT projects towards coordinated management of public safety and order, tourism, transport, solid waste, flood control and sewerage, water resource, health, and sanitation.
    The MBLISTTDA shall foster institutional linkages in the public and private institutions as well as coordinate with the Dept. of Finance and NEDA to get foreign assistance, grants, support, and other programs and projects.
    The current BLISTT institutional set-up is facing lack of human and financial resources to operate effectively.
    The current set-up was implemented through a memorandum of agreement dated Jan. 17 2014. The NEDA Cordillera has been acting as interim technical secretariat of the BLISTT governing and development councils.
    Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong, current BLISTT Governing Council chairperson, called for a meeting to craft implementing rules and regulations (IRR) and plan transition from the current set-up to the MBLISTTDA set-up under the administrative supervision of the Office of the President, as specified in RA No. 11932.