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Friday, August 11, 2006
Del Mar says opposers can still object
Opponents of the bills seeking to create three more provinces in Cebu still have a chance to raise their objections before the House committee on rules.
If the committee finds the objections meritorious, it may recommend the return of the bills to the committee on local government, explained Deputy House Speaker Raul del Mar (Cebu City, north).
“There’s no cause for panic because these bills still have a long way to go. But there’s a need to be more alert now, and this calls for a more vigorous opposition,” del Mar said in a telephone interview.
Del Mar also said the committee report has to get at least 39 signatures before it can be brought to the committee on rules, because the committee on local government has 77 regular members.
Del Mar and Rep. Eduardo Gullas (Cebu, 1st district) will join Rep. Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City, south) in campaigning for the other members of the local government committee not to sign the report.
He assured that at every stage from now on, the bills seeking to create the provinces of Cebu del Sur, Cebu del Norte and Occidental Cebu will be subjected to debates where critics can make their objections heard.
Accommodation
Assuming the bills are approved on second and third reading at the House, these still have to go to the Senate, where these will go through the same process all over again, del Mar pointed out.
That’s when the opinion of Sen. Sergio Osmeña III will be “very crucial” because the other senators will consider his stand, considering he hails from Cebu.
Senator Osmeña has not made an official stand on the “Sugbuak” bills yet, but has assured his brother, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, that there will be consultations before the Senate tackles the measures.
“There’s a lesson to be learned here, that in Congress, it’s the barkada system. Whether it’s fair or not, imong hatagan ug consideration imong amigo... It’s a political exercise of accommodation, which is exactly what (Rep. Emilio) Macias is doing,” Mayor Osmeña said.
Congressman Macias of Oriental Negros chairs the House committee on local government and has repeatedly refused to schedule a public hearing on the three bills here in Cebu.
“Over at the Senate, it’s also like the House, if taga Cebu ka, ikaw lang diha, dili mi muhilabot (you take care of it, we won’t intervene),” the mayor added.
Surprised
Osmeña criticized House Speaker Jose de Venecia for being anti-local government and other legislators for not considering what’s best for Cebu.
“What’s important is their own selfish interest. It’s the very reason I’m against this unicameral system and the Charter change proposals,” he added.
Del Mar admitted he did not expect the bills to be passed at the committee level right away, because he thought they still had to wait for the report of the technical working group chaired by Rep. Luis Villafuerte.
Still, that approval can no longer be questioned, because it was a decision made by the committee “with a quorum and is supported by the majority.”
Del Mar, Gullas and Villafuerte failed to attend that hearing because they were busy in another committee, deliberating on the impeachment complaint against President Arroyo.
“The Sugbuak is a very political issue. The different business chambers in Cebu are more concerned about the economic front.
But Cebu Province, as it is, is already doing well. We can speak in one voice. Dividing Cebu into three provinces would confuse prospective investors on whom they would talk to if they want to invest in the province,” said Eric Mendoza, president of the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Plebiscite
“The Sugbuak is very parochial. It promotes divisiveness,” he added.
In a radio interview, Macias said he was just doing his job when the committee on local government tackled and passed the bills.
He again denied allegations of railroading the bills, saying it has been more than a year since these were referred to his committee.
But even if the bills survive the Senate, the President may still veto them and then “that will be gone, because both houses do not usually override the veto,” said del Mar.
If the bills somehow survive the legislative mill and are enacted into law, there will be a plebiscite where residents of the province “including those in other districts not affected by the bill will be called to vote,” said del Mar.
Rep. Simeon Kintanar (Cebu, 2nd district), one of the three proponents of the bills, confirmed in a radio interview that the bills still have to go through a long process.
“Kon mas daghan di uyon sa atong baruganan, di matuman ang atong gusto (If those against it outnumber those who are for it, then what we want will not be realized),” he said.
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia has said she will fight the bills every step of the way but, “since it is a war, I will not broadcast my next step.”(MBG/With LCR & JBN)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (August 11, 2006 issue)
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