A local politician claimed on Tuesday said that once Palawan is divided into three provinces, the delivery of basic services to the locals is expected to be much easier.
This was declared by Palawan 1st District board member Winston Arzaga after President Rodrigo Duterte signed RA 11259 which seeks to break up the province into three separate provinces.
In a television interview, Arzaga said the land size of Palawan has made it difficult to deliver services to residents, especially those living in far-flung areas of the province.
He added that it also takes hours of travel before the locals could get services from the provincial government as Palawan’s capitol building is located in Puerto Princesa City.
“Unfair sa amin itong mga Palaweño. Kaya yung aming leadership, sa pangunguna ni Gov. [Jose] Alvarez ay nag-isip ng isang paraan wherein we can address these grievances at ang nakita natin is to restructure the administrative machinery para maka-respond sa pangangailangan ng serbisyo,” Arazaga said.
Under RA 11259, the current Palawan province will now be divided into Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental and Palawan del Sur.
The new three provinces will be created upon approval by the majority of the votes cast by the voters of the affected areas in a plebiscite to be conducted and supervised by the Commission on Elections on May 11, 2020.
Residents of Puerto Princesa, a highly urbanized city, however, will not be allowed to vote in the plebiscite and for candidates for provincial elective posts.
Arazaga said that dividing the province into three will ensure that each area will be properly funded.
He said that it will also be easier to ensure environmental protection in the province, as three local government units will now be tasked to protect the resources in the so-called “last ecological frontier” in the Philippines.
But Cynthia del Rosario, campaigner for Save Palawan Movement, disagreed, saying that the move was made to advance the interests of political actors in the province.
“Ito ay kagustuhan lang ng mga pulitiko dito. Hindi ito dumaan sa maraming public consultation. Minadali ito sa Kongreso at sa Senado. Pangalawa, ito ay walang pag-aaral,” Del Rosario said in a separate interview.
Del Rosario argued that while Palawan is a big province, it only has a small population. The delivery of basic services is also a mandate of the municipal government as per the Local Government Code, and not of the provincial government, she added.
She added that the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development, which is tasked to ensure environmental protection in the province, was likewise not consulted on the possible effects of the breaking down of Palawan to the environment, Del Rosario said.
“Hindi kami naniniwala dahil ang mga nagsulong nito ay kabilang sa mga political dynasties dito sa Palawan na napakatagal na nilang nag-rule,” she said.
“Ang poverty dito ay pareho pa rin. Ang pinakamahihirap na sektor na katutubo, sila ay mahihirap pa rin. Hindi paghahati ng Palawan ang solusyon sa kailangan nila. Kahit sila ay ayaw nito,” she added.