Thursday, September 28, 2006 Speak Out: Sugbuhi or Sugbuswak By Rudy L. Pescante Bogo, Cebu
SUGBUHI, suggested by former congressman Junnie Martinez, is a good term for the proposal to create three more provinces in Cebu, as the move aims to bring life to places neglected under only one province.
Sugbuak, on the other hand, means to “break.” But the intention of creating more provinces is not to break Cebu but to bring in development by bringing in more income.
Or it can be called “Sugbuswak,” which means to create more provinces and generate improvement in terms of projects and, more importantly, to increase the internal revenue allotment (IRA).
Indeed, compare the IRA of one province with the IRA of four provinces. And for remote places, having a separate Capitol would result in their needs being attended to promptly.
Meanwhile, there are those who say that creating more provinces is an insult to the intelligence of the Cebuanos and to the history of Cebu.
I would say, however, that objecting to Sugbuswak is the real insult considering the benefits derived from it. Besides, having a Cebu del Norte, Occidental Cebu, and Cebu del Sur does not erase the tag “Cebu.” Anyone living within the four provinces can still be called a Cebuano or Sugbuanon.
Unity will be retained because even with the new provinces Cebuanos will still be helping one another, just like brothers and sisters who have different households but who still reach out to each other.
The goal of having more provinces is progress. Sud-onga ra god ang Siquijor ug Biliran nga karon mga lalawigan na. I visited Siquijor three years ago and noticed the cemented roads and other improvements---proof of the benefits of creating new provinces.
