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Friday, August 26, 2005
Bills' flaws may stall split-Cebu hearing
By Jeanette P. Malinao
With Minerva B. Gerodias & Lovey L. Villanueva
CEBU CITY -- As officials continue to tangle on whether to hold a public hearing in Cebu, Representative Antonio Cuenco on Thursday filed a motion for the House committee on local government to suspend further action on the bills for Cebu del Sur, Cebu del Norte and Cebu Occidental.
Current deliberation on the proposals violated the instructions contained in the implementing rules for the creation of a province, which the House committee affairs department came up for the House committee on local government.
The last part of the instructions states: "The committee on local government shall calendar your bill for deliberation only upon completion of all of the requirements."
For Cuenco (Cebu City, south), the sponsors failed to meet the required documents contained in an official checklist. Moreover, they did not comply with the third instruction: to book bind 30 copies of the documents for distribution to committee members.
More importantly, the filing of the bills violated the procedures for creation contained in Article 9 of the Local Government Code because these were filed even before the filing of "a petition by interested municipalities and component cities in a form of a resolution requesting the creation of a new province..."
Representative Antonio Yapha Jr., author of the proposed Cebu Occidental, could not be interviewed yesterday as he was attending to three patients scheduled for operation.
Cebu del Norte sponsor Representative Clavel Martinez (4th district) was also in a hurry for an appointment and begged off from an interview.
But Representative Simeon Kintanar, who wants a Cebu del Sur out of the 15-town second district, said they complied with the requirements, "as far as I know. But the committee will still have to listen and then decide if we complied."
"He is free to file anything," Kintanar also said of Cuenco.
For his part, Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal challenged the Cebuanos to do their part in the anti-Sugbuak campaign.
"Why should I be the one to do all things, they (Cebuanos) must also continue the fight," Vidal said Thursday.
The cardinal has initiated a survey in parishes to find out the sentiments of Cebuanos on the proposal to divide the province. Initial results from 71 out of 138 churches show that the people are against the move.
Vidal said many people have been questioning his participation in raising the Cebuanos' interest in the proposal.
He explained that since he is the head of the Archdiocese in Cebu, and as the archbishop, it is up to him to inform the faithful.
But for Bogo Mayor Celestino "Tining" Martinez III, son of Congresswoman Martinez, the Archdiocese's survey "does not reveal the true sentiment of people" because Vidal already expressed his stand before the survey was done. Martinez said all they are asking for is a plebiscite as this will be the "truest form of any survey that we can do."
"If the people will say no, then we'll submit ourselves. We don't have to spend so much entertaining the congressmen or non-government organizations. Let's just have the plebiscite," he said.
He also urged the cardinal to visit their district so he can see the real situation in the place in terms of basic services.
"With due respect to the cardinal, I hope that he can get out of the walls of the city life and check what is really happening in terms of basic services of his people. We are also members of the Catholic faith and we also want to be heard why we have made such moves," Martinez said.
He explained that Bogo remitted P3 million to the Province in real property tax and special education fund but they only received P30,000 financial assistance for 2004.
"We're giving so much but we are getting so little. The governor has no commitment to us but to the people of Bogo. She doesn't have to go through us. My father said he has no problem if the governor gives out financial assistance, as long as she does not ask for anything in return. Her duty first is to the people, without stings attached," Martinez said.
Governor Gwendolyn Garcia met with members of the technical working group last Wednesday night to present her objections to the plan to create three new provinces out of Cebu island.
She also asked the congressmen to hold a public hearing in Cebu, as what local officials and the cardinal are lobbying for.
Vidal is encouraging the Cebuanos to act now and start sending letters to Congress to bring the hearings here in Cebu.
"How can they discuss something about us if they are not Cebuanos. They should hold the hearings here unless they plan to hakot Cebuanos to go to Manila, which is very expensive," the cardinal said.
But Cuenco, in his motion, said the House committee on local government should tackle the bills only after the sponsors have complied with all the requirements.
He said the proposals lack, among others:
* certification from the Land Management Bureau indicating that the creation will not reduce the land area requirement of the original province to less than the prescribed minimum, and that disposable and alienable public lands are available for the establishment of a government center;
* resolutions (from legislative bodies) of all component municipalities and cities desiring to form the new province;
* certification of the provincial treasurer as to the availability of funds for the conduct of a plebiscite, if chargeable to local funds. (The bills proposed that the current Capitol spend for the plebiscite, but Governor Garcia had said she will veto any such appropriation.) (Sun.Star Cebu/Sunnex)
(August 26, 2005 issue)
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