.png)
Story/Photo: ELMER RECUERDO
TACLOBAN CITY – Samar Island Region may become the next administrative region in the country if a bill now pending in the congress is passed into law.
House of Representatives Minority Leader Marcelino "Nonoy" Libanan filed House Bill No. 10727 for the creation of a new Samar Island Region that will include the three provinces of Northern Samar, Samar, and Eastern Samar, including their cities, municipalities, and barangays.
Libanan said the creation of a new SIR will decentralize and boost up the delivery of essential national government services to some of the least developed provinces in the country.
"Our measure, once enacted, will expedite the dispensing of national government services to the communities of the three Samar provinces," Libanan said on Sunday.
"They will also have their own highly focused Regional Development Council (RDC) to drive economic growth and jobs creation," Libanan added.
Libanan represented Eastern Samar's lone congressional district for nine years from 1998 to 2007, and was one-time provincial vice governor. He is currently 4Ps party-list representative.
Once formed, the Samar Island Region would become the country's 19th administrative region.
Last June, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the Republic Act. No. 12000, which set up the Negros Island Region (NIR) as the country's 18th administrative region.
The creation of a Samar Island Region, separate from Eastern Visayas, was first proposed by the bishops of the three dioceses in Samar in a meeting of the multisectoral Samar Island Partnership for Peace and Development (SIPPAD) in 2017. However, none of the congressional representatives from Eastern Visayas vigorously supported making it into a law.
Libanan said a new region means that all national government line departments, such as health, education, and social services, among others, would have to put up new regional offices.
The bill does not specify the seat of the Samar Island Region, but it calls for a creation of a Technical Working Group (TWG) that would recommend to the Office of the President the preferred site of the regional center.
The TWG would be composed of representatives from Malacañang, the Department of Budget and Management, Department of the Interior and Local Government, the governor's offices of the three Samar provinces, and all elected congressional district representatives.
The three Samar provinces currently form part of Eastern Visayas (Region VIII), which also includes the provinces of Biliran, Leyte, and Southern Leyte.
Samar island, the country's third biggest island, has a total land area of 13,080 square km and the seventh most populous island with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census.(CJ/jmm/ER)
- Calbayog Journal, August 12, 2024
TACLOBAN CITY – Samar Island Region may become the next administrative region in the country if a bill now pending in the congress is passed into law.
House of Representatives Minority Leader Marcelino "Nonoy" Libanan filed House Bill No. 10727 for the creation of a new Samar Island Region that will include the three provinces of Northern Samar, Samar, and Eastern Samar, including their cities, municipalities, and barangays.
Libanan said the creation of a new SIR will decentralize and boost up the delivery of essential national government services to some of the least developed provinces in the country.
"Our measure, once enacted, will expedite the dispensing of national government services to the communities of the three Samar provinces," Libanan said on Sunday.
"They will also have their own highly focused Regional Development Council (RDC) to drive economic growth and jobs creation," Libanan added.
Libanan represented Eastern Samar's lone congressional district for nine years from 1998 to 2007, and was one-time provincial vice governor. He is currently 4Ps party-list representative.
Once formed, the Samar Island Region would become the country's 19th administrative region.
Last June, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the Republic Act. No. 12000, which set up the Negros Island Region (NIR) as the country's 18th administrative region.
The creation of a Samar Island Region, separate from Eastern Visayas, was first proposed by the bishops of the three dioceses in Samar in a meeting of the multisectoral Samar Island Partnership for Peace and Development (SIPPAD) in 2017. However, none of the congressional representatives from Eastern Visayas vigorously supported making it into a law.
Libanan said a new region means that all national government line departments, such as health, education, and social services, among others, would have to put up new regional offices.
The bill does not specify the seat of the Samar Island Region, but it calls for a creation of a Technical Working Group (TWG) that would recommend to the Office of the President the preferred site of the regional center.
The TWG would be composed of representatives from Malacañang, the Department of Budget and Management, Department of the Interior and Local Government, the governor's offices of the three Samar provinces, and all elected congressional district representatives.
The three Samar provinces currently form part of Eastern Visayas (Region VIII), which also includes the provinces of Biliran, Leyte, and Southern Leyte.
Samar island, the country's third biggest island, has a total land area of 13,080 square km and the seventh most populous island with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census.(CJ/jmm/ER)
- Calbayog Journal, August 12, 2024
