New Samar Island region sought
‘Our measure, once enacted, will expedite the dispensing of national government services to the communities of the three Samar provinces’
Daily Tribune‘Our measure, once enacted, will expedite the dispensing of national government services to the communities of the three Samar provinces’
House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan
TACLOBAN CITY — A lawmaker is pushing for the creation of a new administrative region covering the three provinces of Samar Island.
House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan filed House Bill 10727 last week to establish the Samar Island Region, which would include Northern Samar, Samar and Eastern Samar, along with their cities, municipalities and barangays.
Libanan, a former Eastern Samar representative, said the new region would improve government service delivery in the area.
“Our measure, once enacted, will expedite the dispensing of national government services to the communities of the three Samar provinces,” Libanan said. “They will also have their own highly focused Regional Development Council (RDC) to drive economic growth and jobs creation.”
The proposal comes after the creation of the Negros Island Region in 2016. If created, the Samar Island Region would be the country’s 19th administrative region.
The idea of a separate region for Samar Island has been floated for years, with the Catholic Church and local groups advocating for it. The three Samar provinces are currently part of Eastern Visayas.
The bill calls for the creation of a technical working group to recommend the location of the regional center and the panel would include representatives from the Office of the President, Department of Budget and Management, Department of the Interior and Local Government, the three Samar provinces and all representatives from the area.
Samar Island is the country’s third-largest island with a population of about 1.9 million people, according to the 2020 census.
Libanan said establishing the new region would require the creation of regional offices for national government agencies such as health, education and social welfare.