Creation of Samar Island Region sought

MANILA, Philippines — Taking a cue from the creation of the Negros Island Region (NIR), a measure has been filed in the House of Representatives seeking to establish the Samar Island Region, to decentralize and boost the delivery of government services.

House Bill 10727, authored by House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan of 4Ps party-list, aims to constitute the three provinces of Samar into Samar Island Region.

The three provinces – Eastern Samar, Samar and Northern Samar, are part of the Eastern Visayas region, which also includes Biliran, Leyte and Southern Leyte.

“Once enacted, our measure will expedite the dispensing of national government services to communities in three Samar provinces, which will have their own regional development council to drive economic growth and job creation,” Libanan said. 

Once formed, the Samar Island Region will become the country’s 19th region.

In June, President Marcos signed Republic Act 12000 creating the NIR, the country’s 18th region.

The creation of a new region means that all national government line departments such as health, education and social services, will have to set up new regional offices.