AS a legislator is calling for the reopening of plenary deliberations on the creation of the new province of Nueva Camarines from municipalities in the fourth and fifth districts of Camarines Sur, another member of the House of Representatives has affixed his signature as co-author of the measure.
The move of Lakas-Kampi-CMD Rep. Rolando Andaya brought to four the number of legislators from the province pushing for the passage of House Bill (HB) 4728.
Of the five representatives in Camarines Sur, only Nacionalista Party Rep. Salvio Fortuno is opposing the bill. He is being supported by Gov. Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte.
Andaya joined principal author, Deputy Speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella and two co-authors, LRay’s father Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Luis Villafuerte and Lakas-Kampi-CMD Rep. Diosdado Arroyo in seeking the approval of the bill in plenary session.
In opposing the bill, Fortuno and the young Villafuerte claimed the measure has not been subjected to hearings.
Their claims were immediately rebutted by Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. George Arnaiz of Negros Oriental, chairman of the House Committee on Local Government. He assailed them for their “irresponsible, self-serving and misleading claims” that the bill was not subjected to hearings and debates by his committee which deliberated and subsequently reported it out for plenary action.
Arnaiz said in the May 31 and June 7 committee hearings, Villafuerte and Fortuno had participated at length in the proceedings, and even brought with them three busloads of their supporters to the Andaya Hall of the House of Representatives.
During the nearly three-hour debate on June 7, LRay’s father, argued for the creation of Nueva Camarines while debunking the arguments of his son who opposed the bill.
Arnaiz insisted that the legislative process was followed thoroughly when his committee voted 22-6 in favor of the measure.
“In fact, I let pass a comment by Representative Fortuno that my inviting him to the hearing despite his not being a member of the committee was allegedly a ‘rare display of impartiality’ on my part,” said Arnaiz.
“They [LRay and Fortuno] participated in the debates and were given all the time they wanted to air their side. For them to say that the bill was railroaded is most irresponsible, self-serving and misleading,” he added.
At least 24 of the total 35 mayors of Camarines Sur also attended the second hearing and expressed their full support for the creation of Nueva Camarines.
Arnaiz said the allegation by Fortuno that the bill was not amended was baseless as it was even substituted by HB 4820 to reflect the many amendments introduced by committee members, mainly Representative Villafuerte.
He said the panel was able to accomplish its main purpose, which was to determine whether the legal requirements prescribed by Republic Act 7160, or the Local Government Code of 1991, have been complied with by both the proposed province of Nueva Camarines and the mother province, Camarines Sur.
Representative Villafuerte said two first-class provinces, not two weak ones, would be created by HB 4728. A reduced CamSur, he said, would have a higher per capita Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) allocation of P772.14 per person, compared with CamSur’s present IRA allocation of P673.029 per person.
Arnaiz said the bill passed all the requirements as certified during the May 31 hearing by Bureau of Local Government Finances Executive Director Maria Presentacion Montesa and Deputy Executive Director Arnold Tan, Minerva Eloisa Esquibas and Raul Ludovice of the National Statistics Office and by the Land Management Bureau Assistant Director Ralph Pablo.
