Governance or gerrymandering?
SINCE the House of Representatives voted 229-1 to pass House Bill No. 4820 on Aug. 5, carving a new province to be named Nueva Camarines out of Camarines Sur has loomed more real.
The bill though has yet to be taken up in the Senate. If the senators approve it and President Aquino signs it into law, a plebiscite will be called for residents of Camarines Sur to vote on the new province.
Who will stand to gain from such a division?
Proponents believe it is about time that Nueva Camarines is created to bring much-needed economic development to neglected towns. Critics, however, see the birth of a new political fiefdom.
For years, the 35 towns and one component city of Camarines Sur—the largest and most populous of the six provinces of Bicol—have competed for the attention of the provincial government.
First-class province
As of 2007, Camarines Sur’s population was 1,693,821 and its land area was 5,381 square kilometers, according to the National Statistics Office. Naga City, although politically part of the first-class province, is an independent city.
The province had a yearly income of over P500 million in 2009, but its poverty incidence was 38.67 percent, the National Statistical Coordination Board reported. This meant that four out of every 10 families live below the poverty line.
Garchitorena town in an extreme case. Its poverty incidence dipped to 65 percent in 2000.
Most of the poor towns are in the fourth congressional district, which has long been represented by the Fuentebellas.
Large land size, booming population, unequal delivery of basic services to municipalities, high poverty—these factors have been cited to explain why a new province must be formed.
Development promise
In May, Rep. Arnulfo Fuentebella Jr. filed HB 4820 that seeks to combine the fourth and fifth districts to compose the Nueva Camarines. This, he said, will lead to the development of both the new and mother provinces and more benefits to constituents of both.
Fewer towns will mean bigger internal revenue allotment (IRA) for each, while bigger allocation of resources will result in better infrastructure, especially good road networks, he says.
Camarines Sur Gov. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. assails the proposal as counterproductive.
Citing a 2005 study by the Local Government Development Foundation and the German foundation Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Villafuerte says the new province may carry a price tag of some P1.4 billion.
“The study said that consolidation, rather than fragmentation, of local government units (LGUs) is the way to go as it would cost almost P800 million to put up a new province. Considering inflation, it translates to P1.4 billion at 2011 prices,” he says.
Moreover, the creation of Nueva Camarines will bring more financial burden to the national government, as it must set up new provincial offices and at least 16 national line agencies, a new provincial police office and judicial courts, he says.
A new province will mean P160 million less in the IRA allocation for provincial LGUs, he says.
Growth momentum
“In our province, an overwhelming majority fret that this congressional plan will derail the growth momentum of CamSur, which has been on an upward trajectory as a result of its international reputation as an extreme sports and ecotourism haven,” Villafuerte says.
The governor harps on his administration’s success in making the province emerge as the country’s top tourist destination. He mentions the Department of Tourism’s Research and Statistics Division report showing the combined efforts of all sectors to promote the CamSur Watersports Center (CWC) and the Caramoan Islands as a must-see package for foreign and domestic tourists alike.
“This marketing strategy will be put in jeopardy by the split … the Caramoan Islands are in the district that the bill’s proponents want to form part of Nueva Camarines,” Villafuerte warns.
A word war has erupted between Fuentebella and Villafuerte Jr., as well as their allies.
Mayor Antero Lim of Goa town says dividing Camarines Sur is necessary. “There is no negligence really on the part of the provincial government. But with a province as large as Camarines Sur, anyone can’t help but have difficulty in attending to the needs of all the towns,” Lim says.
Each of the new provincial governments can now focus and prioritize their respective towns, he adds.
Small towns
Although Goa is already the commercial and industrial center of the Partido Area (fourth district), it will still benefit, especially in terms of infrastructure. “Actually, it’s the small towns that stand to benefit much from the creation of the new province,” Lim says.
Goa, 50 km from Naga, is home to the Partido State University and the Philippine Science High School in Bicol.
Mayor Benjamin Decena of Bula town, a staunch ally of Villafuerte, says the proposal will inconvenience the people and is politically-motivated.
“Now, it only takes one ride to go to the capitol. If the proposed partition of Camarines Sur will push through, the capitol will be in Tigaon town and it will take two rides for us in Bula to go there,” Decena says.
He says the division will also reduce the bargaining power of either of the two provinces.
“If we will ask something from the national government, there would be little chance that we would get what we want because we are reduced to smaller land areas. In most cases, little importance is given to local government units with small land area because there will be little ‘return of investment,’” Decena says.
Fuentebellas
Rinconada had been in the hands of the Fuentebellas before and nothing much happened but politicking, he says.
“They would send materials for a supposed project but would take it back after elections. I do not like the leadership style of the Fuentebellas and I’m sure that if the new province would be established, they would reign over there because no one can beat the Fuentebellas in that new province, not even the Alfelors, which have fought the Fuentebellas many times before but was unsuccessful,” Decena says.
If the issue is development, he says, the fourth district already has the Partido Development Authority, which has an annual budget as a national government agency.
To Decena, the real reason for the division is this: “The Fuentebellas have fought against the Villafuertes before but lost. So they have to create a province of their own because they cannot penetrate anymore the leadership of Camarines Sur.”
New leaders, not province
What the Partido District needs is not a new political status, says Adrian Remodo, chair of the Philosophy Department of Ateneo de Naga University and native of Lagonoy town.
“Dividing [Camarines Sur] will only give the few elite families that have been in power for almost or over a century an unchallenged political power, breeding more the oligarchic system that this area has been having. What it (Partido) needs most is new leaders and not new province. Naming it as a new province is like the emperor wearing a new robe—same dog with a different collar.”
Wilfredo Prilles Jr., Naga planning and development coordinator, is careful to point out that the city government has not taken an official position on the issue. He says that carving out Nueva Camarines is not a magic bullet that will improve governance and bring about development to Partido and Rinconada areas.
The politicians opposing each other on the issue come from the same families who have lorded over the province for the last 40 years.
Going by their track record, the current state of governance in Camarines Sur, as well as the proposed territory of Nueva Camarines, does not inspire confidence, Prilles says. “The funny thing is, as governors and congressmen, they are ultimately responsible for Camarines Sur’s poor development indicators—which they have been throwing at one another.”
“It’s the proverbial case of pot calling the kettle black,” he adds.
All about politics
For Naga political scientist Ramon Beleno III, it is all about politics.
“The timing is awful. It seems that the move is to prepare for the 2013 elections. Some dynasties in CamSur are no longer vying for districts or municipalities but a province. But since we have an existing stronger dynasty in the province, they could not penetrate the capitol,” Beleno says.
Bicol writer Jason Chancoco, who hails from Iriga City, also sees no reason for the partition.
“There must be some economic reason why Rinconada must be joined with Partido, a reason that prevails as to why Rinconada must not remain with the ‘old province.’ Separation must come naturally … Some source of economic independence must arise giving rise to the urge to separate like some new source of income. It could be something simple like a greatly executed one town one product project, or something fantastic like oil or other minerals being found.”
“And it would be more plausible to see Rinconada join the ‘old province’ than Partido. Just look at the distance. Generally, we Rinconada people meet Partido people when we go to Pili or Naga for education or business,” Chancoco says.
If the new province will be created, Camarines Sur will lose many of its large and populous towns, but it will also lose some of its poorest and most isolated towns, including Siruma and Garchitorena.
It will also cede to Nueva Camarines its entire eastern seaboard facing the Pacific Ocean and will only have a short patch of coast in the San Miguel Bay.
With these, the province will also lose the Lagonoy Gulf—a rich fishing ground.
If Nueva Camarines materializes, the contenders for the government center are Tigaon town and Iriga, both 30 km east and southeast, respectively, of Naga. With a report from Juan Escandor Jr.
