Palace orders MinDa chief Acosta to vacate post
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. asked Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Secretary Maria Belen Acosta to vacate her post «due to loss of trust and confidence.»
The order was given through a letter signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on May 22, 2024.
In the letter, Bersamin told Acosta that Secretary Leo Tereso Magno's assumption as the new MinDA chairman took effect on May 21 when he took his oath of office.He was appointed on May 13.
Former president Rodrigo Duterte appointed Acosta in January 2022.
«I need to stress that your replacement was effective and valid on the assumption of your successor in office on May 21, 2024. By that event, your term of office was terminated for cause due to the loss of trust and confidence in you on the part of the appointing power,» Bersamin told Acosta.
Bersamin issued the order after Acosta insisted on holding on to her post.
«The post of Secretary and Chairperson of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) is not officially vacant. Hence, a replacement is not warranted,» Acosta said in her official statement on May 20.
AdvertisementShe said that she was not facing any administrative or criminal charges and never been found guilty of any crime.
But Bersamin described Acosta's argument as «utterly untenable for being contrary to existing laws and relevant jurisprudence.»
He said the position of chairman of the MinDA was an office with Cabinet rank whose duties and responsibilities included supervising the implementation of Mindanao-wide and Mindanao-specific inter-regional programs, convening the Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East Asean Growth Area Advisory Board, and advising the President on Mindanao-related matters.
«Given the nature of the position of Chairman of the Mindanao Development Authority as primarily confidential and policy determining, the President as the appointing power validly and effectively removed you for cause due to loss of his trust and confidence in you,» Bersamin said.
AdvertisementRepublic Act 9996, or the Mindanao Development Authority Act of 2010 states that the chairman «shall serve a term of six years from the date of his/her appointment,
