Bill on CamSur division hurdles 2nd reading in Senate

THE bill that triggered the falling out between Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senator Antonio Trillanes IV moved past the debate and amendment stage as it passed second reading on Tuesday night.

House Bill 4820, a bill creating the province of Nueva Camarines out of Camarines Sur, however will not be scheduled for third reading on Wednesday since it has to observe the three-day interval rule.
Congress ends its sessions on Wednesday to give way for the campaign period. It will resume work on June 3.

The bill has been strongly opposed by Trillanes, who accused Enrile last September of conniving with political clans in the province like the Villafuertes and Fuentebellas to have the measure approved before the May midterm elections.

He pointed out that creating a new province will only lessen the Internal Revenue Allotment of the existing provinces, thus hampering the delivery of basic services in their areas.

He added that this might set an ill-advised trend of legislation seeking division of big provinces in the country.

Enrile, in turn, slammed Trillanes defending for supposedly Chinese interest in the West Philippine Sea in his capacity as backdoor negotiator of Malacañang on the territorial dispute. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)