Monday, January 23, 2006
Ex-senator blames naiveté for failure of split-Cebu plans
CEBU CITY -- All three authors of the split-Cebu bills denied any knowledge of what former senator John "Sonny" Osmeña meant when he said the move failed because one of the proponents was naïve.
Representative Clavel Asas-Martinez, who filed the proposal to create Cebu de Norte, and Representative Simeon Kintanar, who sponsored the bill for Cebu del Sur, merely said it is only Sonny's opinion and refused to say more.
Representative Antonio Yapha also said he does not know who Osmeña was referring to, as all three of them did their best to push for the bills' approval.
Yapha is seeking to make his bailiwick, the third district, the new province of Cebu Occidental.
"Sonny wants to speed up approval in the Lower House, but we can't force the chairperson, who also has other things to do. We can only request," Yapha said in a telephone interview.
"Every time we see each other, he tells me, 'Jun, dali-a nana sa Congress.' I told the chairman to fast track the process but we are told we have to wait for the technical working group. As far as I'm concerned, we did our best," Yapha added.
The bills, filed in February last year, were referred to the House committee on local government.
The committee then created a technical working group to study and make a report about the proposals.
Yapha, Martinez, and Kintanar said creating three more provinces would benefit the affected areas because it will bring the government closer to the remote areas.
Osmeña recently told Sun.Star Cebu that he continues to believe the creation of smaller provinces, which he first proposed in 1992, would improve governance and the delivery of services.
But he also said, "The latest attempt was done by some congressmen. It failed mainly because of the naivete of one of them."
However, it has stirred opposition from local government units, the business sector and other groups.
Governor Gwendolyn Garcia also cited legal and procedural flaws of the bills, among others.
Yapha said he will ask Osmeña about this when they see each other this Tuesday in a meeting of mayors, vice mayors and barangay captains in the third district. (JPM of Sun.Star Cebu/Sunnex)
(January 23, 2006 issue)
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