Capitol eyes taking 'Sugbuak' to court

Despite its approval in the committee level, the pending bills seeking to create three additional provinces in Cebu are in for more opposition as Capitol officials are bent on taking the issue to court.

The three bills, creating Cebu del Norte, Cebu del Sur and Cebu Occidental, filed by congressmen Simeon Kintanar, Clavel Asas-Martinez and Antonio Yapha, respectively were approved by the House committee on local government last week despite the lack of certain requirements.

Capitol consultant Pablo John Garcia, however, said that there is a need to file a motion for reconsideration at the committee level first before going to court about the matter.

"This is a move that we have to make because this will open the option to file a case in court," Pablo John said, refusing to elaborate the specific legal action they are planning. But he assured the Cebuanos that they are doing everything to ensure that Kintanar, Yapha and Martinez will not succeed in carving out their own provinces.

He said they have grounds to bring the matter to court because the committee on local government, headed by Negros Oriental Rep. Emilio Macias, acted in excess of its jurisdiction. He reiterated that Macias railroaded the passage of the bills when he intentionally disregarded the report of the technical working group, which he himself created to study the bills.

Pablo John said that Governor Gwendolyn Garcia is also eyeing to personally campaign against the bills in Congress, even if it means going to each and every congressman.

He said that one option Capitol is looking at is asking the intervention of Speaker Jose De Venecia, who has already been informed about the sentiments of the Cebuanos against the three bills.

Asked if they are also planning to get President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to intervene, Pablo John said it is too early to involve the president. However, he said the president is already aware of the popular opposition to the move.

Rep. Luis Villafuerte, who was tasked to head the technical working group to study the three bills, said in an interview over dyLA that if he were present during the committee meeting last week, he would have asked for more time to study the data he has gathered about the bills. He, however, refused to comment whether he felt slighted that Rep. Macias disregarded his report and went on to approve the bills. - Fred P. Languido