The suggestion to divide Palawan into several provinces first came out about a decade ago. Originally, as proposed by then 1st district congressman Brown Sandoval, there were to be two new provinces – the north and the south, with Puerto Princesa being part of the South as its capital. This never materialized, although a bill had been filed in Congress and several public hearings had been held.
A current proposal seeks to establish a separate Palawan region to be composed of three new provinces plus an administratively independent Puerto Princesa City. It emerged as a consensus among the key political leaders of Palawan while on the campaign trail during the May 2007 local elections.
The latter proposal did not go through a deliberate planning and buying-in process involving the key leadership. When it was presented to the public, Congressman Abraham Mitra was evidently uncomfortable with some of its aspects. He doubted whether the idea of a creating a separate region would fly in Congress. But he nevertheless committed to support it.
Public consultations in Brooke’s Point: Just going through the motions
The proposal’s nuts and bolts are wholly the brainstorming of Vice Governor David Ponce de Leon, who has also directly supervised the holding of public hearings in the municipalities. Its key features are as follows:
- Creation of North, Central and South Palawan provinces
- Inclusion of Puerto Princesa City in the Palawan region as a separate entity, being a highly urbanized city category
- The conversion of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development as the regional body
- The introduction of a novel concept of natural wealth sharing, a top down approach where the funds will be owned by the region with each of the parts being given an “equitable” share.
The public hearings that had been completed dwelt mainly on the selection of the capital for each of the provinces, expectedly since the idea had triggered a rivalry.
Other than the formal acquiescence of the two congressmen, little or no support has been seen from the two towards the realization of this idea. The indifference reflects the proposal’s inherent conflict with whatever the individual political plans of the key actors are. It further suggests that this exercise is nothing more than a case of political masturbation, a waste of public resources and time.
There are some good arguments about dividing Palawan into separate political entities. It lends itself, for instance, to better development planning for the new provinces that will be created. This and similar pro arguments however do not appeal to the short term and partisan interests of the main political players in the province.
Considering the current political realities in Palawan, this initiative already looks dead in the water.
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