Church sets bolder pastoral letter vs divide-Cebu move

CEBU — The Archdiocese of Cebu is coming up with a bolder pastoral letter that will contain more valuable information on the pros and cons concerning the move to break up Cebu into four provinces.

This, as provincial board member Victor Maambong is filing on Monday a resolution airing the sentiment of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) against the proposal.

Msgr. Achilles Dakay said Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal is set to issue a bolder and informative pastoral letter than the previous one against the plan to divide Cebu.

Despite the insistence of Cebu Reps. Simeon Kintanar, Antonio Yapha and Clavel Asas-Martinez that their bills seeking to create separate provinces out of their respective districts would be beneficial to their constituents, Vidal has branded their move to divide the province as "evil."

Dakay said some parishioners favor the three lawmakers’ proposals, but he added that the opposition is overwhelming as shown in the surveys conducted in the different parishes

Maambong said his resolution would contain the clamor of the LMP, as represented by its president, Dalaguete Mayor Ronald Allan Cesante, to request Rep. Emilio Macias, chairman of the House committee on local governments, to hold a public hearing on the issue in Cebu. – Ferliza Contratista and Jasmin Uy/ Freeman News Service