By MARS W. MOSQUEDA JR.
CEBU CITY — In a development that stunned several Cebuanos, eight of the 15 Cebu provincial board (PB) members voted last Monday in favor of a resolution supporting a proposal to split Cebu into three provinces.
The PB resolution is one of the many requirements of the House committee on local government before it tackles the three bills filed by three Cebu congressmen for the creation of their districts into separate provinces, which would be called Cebu del Sur, Cebu del Norte, and Cebu Occidental.
Citing better delivery of basic services to far-flung areas and equitable distribution of resources as the overriding reasons for their vote, the eight pro-split board members ended three months of long suspense on their stand on the Cebu House bills.
Those who voted for Cebu’s division into three provinces were Provincial Board Members Carmiano Kintanar, Jose Ma. Gastardo, Joevn Mon-igo, Antonio Almirante, Estrella Yapha, Victoria Corominas, Raul Bacaltos and Gabriel Luis Quisumbing.
PB Members Juan Bolo, Rosemarie Durano, Alfred Francis Ouano, Teresita Celis, Ramon Martin Calderon, Victor Maambong and Agnes Magpale believed in the "strength of a united Cebu" and voted against the resolution.
The board members whose congressional representatives filed the House bills seeking the division of Cebu and the creation of new provinces supported the resolution. They included Mondigo, Gastardo, Almirante, Kintanar, Corominas, and Yapha, wife of proponent Rep. Antonio Yapha (Cebu, third district).
Speaking on behalf of Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, Capitol consultant Pablo John Garcia said that "the result of the voting is important, but it is not monumental and earthshaking."
The board was only asked to comment on the proposal and not required to make a favorable resolution, Garcia clarified.
"The voting should not be given too much importance because it does not reflect the true sentiments of the people," Garcia said. "Those who voted in favor were all identified with the congressmen who are asking for the division of the province."
Earlier, Governor Garcia said that dividing Cebu would make the province fall slide from its ranking in the list of the country’s top revenue earners. She also gave a gloomy forecast for each of the districts seeking secession.
Garcia said that if the planned split is pushed through, Cebu province would incur a deficit of R185.17 million in one year, considering total expenses reaching R553.62 million and an income of only R368.45 million.
"A divided Cebu will also face a drastic cut in internal revenue allotment (IRA)," Garcia said.
