Congress passes bill creating 3 new Palawan provinces

Senator Risa Hontiveros and other groups oppose splitting Palawan, saying it will benefit China. Bill to be transmitted to President Dutete for signing.

3 PROVINCES. A map showing the proposed composition of the 3 new provinces of Palawan.

Palawan, the island closest to the disputed West Philippine Sea, would soon be divided into 3 provinces, after the House and the Senate approved the proposal.

Voting 14-1, the Senate on Monday, November 18, approved House Bill 8055, sponsored by Senate committee on local government chairman Juan Edgardo Angara. Only Senator Risa Hontiveros opposed the bill. The House approved a counterpart measure in August.

The bill seeks to divide Palawan into 3 new provinces, namely Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental, Palawan del Sur.

"If we speak of economic potential, Palawan is a powerhouse. Its local growth rate has been clocked at bristling 7 percent per annum for many years now. And this was achieved with a total ban on the exploitation of natural resources over a wide swath of its land," Angara said.

A plebiscite will be conducted in 2020 so Palawan residents could decide on the matter.

Under congressional rules, local bills such as HB 8055 must first be passed in the House of Representatives before being transmitted to the Senate. The measure was filed by Palawan representatives on March 15, 2018 and was approved on final reading just 5 months after, August 22. The Senate received the bill on August 30 and passed the same in less than 3 months.

The bill would now be transmitted to President Rodrigo Duterte for signature.

Composition

The divisions under the proposed measure are as follows:

Palawan del Sur will be the so-called "mother province"

• Aborlan
• Narra
• Quezon
• Rizal
• Espanola
• Brooke's Poin
• Bataraza
• Balacbac
• Kalayaan island group

Palawan del Norte

• Coron
• Culion
• Busuanga
• Linacapan
• Taytay
• El Nido

Palawan Oriental

• Roxas
• Araceli
• Dumaran
• Cuyo
• Agutaya
• Magsaysay
• Cayancillo
• San Vicente

The independent city of Puerto Princesa City would not be part of any of the 3 provinces.

A divided Palawan to benefit China?

Senator Hontiveros and other groups opposed the measure. A divided Palawan, they said, would only strengthen China’s position in the West Philippine Sea.

"Instead of having to face a single, strong provincial government which can mobilize the entire island in its own defense, China will now have the opportunity to infiltrate and influence smaller local government units," Hontiveros said.

"This is not your business as usual subdivision of political units but one with deep geopolitical repercussions especially since the Province of Palawan is right in the forefront of our West Philippine Sea territory," she added.

Hontiveros also lamented the lack of genuine consultation in the proposal, citing the letter of Bishop Eduardo Sarabia Juanich of Taytay, Palawan and the petition by the Save Palawan Movement.

"For something as important as what the bill seeks to accomplish, it is my opinion that our committee did not reach out to all affected sectors, particularly the non-government organizations, the religious and the private sector,” she said.

The passage of the measure came a day before Chinese President Xi Jingping's arrival in Manila for his state visit.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/217063-law-splitting-palawan-into-3-new-provinces-soon-to-be-enacted

Senate OKs bill dividing Palawan into three provinces

By Hannah Torregoza

The Senate has approved on third and final reading the measure dividing Palawan—the country’s largest province—into three new provinces.

House Bill No. 8055, which was sponsored by Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, chair of the Senate committee on local government was passed with 14 affirmative votes, one negative vote and zero abstention.

It was Sen. Risa Hontiveros who cast the negative vote on the bill, expressing her fears that a divided Palawan would strengthen China’s position in the West Philippine Sea.

The measure, Palawan will be divided into three provinces—namely, Palawan Del Norte, Palawan Oriental and Palawan Del Sur.

Under the bill, the province of Palawan del Norte will be composed of the municipalities of Coron, Culion, Busuanga, Linacapan, Taytay and El Nido.

The province of Palawan Oriental, in turn, would be comprised of the municipalities of Roxas, Araceli, Dumaran, Cuyo, Agutaya, Magsaysay, Cayancillo, and San Vicente.

On the other hand, the province of Palawan del Sur, which will be considered as the “mother province,” will be composed of the municipalities of Aborlan, Narra, Quezon, Rizal, Espanola, Brooke’s Point, Bataraza, Balacbac and Kalayaan.

Angara said the three proposed provinces would be created upon approval of the majority of the votes cast by voters in the affected areas in a plebiscite to be conducted in 2020.

According to Angara, due to the “vastness” of Palawan, an archipelago of 1,800 islands with a population of at least 1.1 million, the division of the existing province under the bill would comply with requirements for a province set forth by the Local Government Code.

He also said that the three proposed provinces will meet the land area requirement; Palawan del Norte and Palawan Oriental are expected to satisfy the population requirement imposed by law by 2020.

“If we speak of economic potential, Palawan is a powerhouse. Its local growth rate has been clocked at bristling seven percent per annum for many years now. And this was achieved with a total ban on the exploitation of natural resources over a wide swath of its land,” Angara noted.

However, Hontiveros expressed concern that if China has aggressively and arrogantly exerted its claim on the West Philippine Sea, it can now easily conquer the three provinces which are now reduced as small local government units.

“Instead of having to face a single, strong provincial government which can mobilize the entire island in its own defense, China will now have the opportunity to infiltrate and influence smaller local government units,” Hontiveros said.

“This is not your business as usual subdivision of political units but one with deep geopolitical repercussions especially since the Province of Palawan is right in the forefront of our West Philippine Sea territory,” she added.

She also lamented the lack of genuine consultation in the proposal, pointing out that the letter of Bishop Eduardo Sarabia Juanich of Taytay, Palawan and the petition by the Save Palawan Movement indicated that there were no genuine discussions made when the bill was being heard.

“For something as important as what the bill seeks to accomplish, it is my opinion that our committee did not reach out to all affected sectors, particularly the non-government organizations, the religious and the private sector. While the public hearing conducted in the Senate invited as resources persons, local government officials and employees of the province, it failed to take into account the position of the various NGOs, people’s organizations and the religious who are opposed to the subdivision of our last frontier,” Hontiveros said.

“It is my opinion that the bill has failed to take into account the various environmental and natural resources laws that have specific jurisdiction over Palawan,” she said.

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/11/19/senate-oks-bill-dividing-palawan-into-three-provinces/

Senate OKs bill dividing Palawan into 3 provinces

The Senate on Monday approved on third and final reading a bill that seeks to split Palawan into three provinces: Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental, and Palawan del Sur.

House Bill No. 8055, which aims to divide of the country’s largest province in terms of land area, was passed with 14 affirmative votes, one negative vote from Senator Risa Hontiveros, and zero abstention.

Angara said with the vastness of Palawan, which has around 1,800 islands and a notably large population, splitting the province into three will comply with the requirements for a province set by the Local Government Code.

“If we speak of economic potential, Palawan is a powerhouse. Its local growth rate has been clocked at bristling 7 percent per annum for many years now,” Senator Sonny Angara, sponsor of the bill and chair of the Senate Committee on Local Government, said in a statement.

“This was achieved with a total ban on the exploitation of natural resources over a wide swath of its land,” Angara said.

Under the bill, Palawan del Sur, which will be considered the “mother province,” will consist of municipalities, namely, Aborlan, Narra, Quezon, Rizal, Espanola, Brooke’s Point, Bataraza, Balacbac, and Kalayaan.

Palawan del Norte, on the other hand, will include municipalities of Coron, Culion, Busuanga, Linacapan, Taytay, and El Nido.

Palawan Oriental, meanwhile, will cover municipalities of Roxas, Araceli, Dumaran, Cuyo, Agutaya, Magsaysay, Cayancillo, and San Vicente.

Angara said the creation of the three provinces will be established via a plebiscite in 2020.  /kga

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1055055/senate-oks-bill-dividing-palawan-into-3-provinces