The Vice Governor of Palawan welcomed the chopping off of the island province into three saying that this will be beneficial to the people since government services will be more accessible to them.
Vice Governor Victorino Dennis M. Socrates said there is no dismemberment that will happen nor will there be separation. The House Bill, he says, creates three Local Government Units (LGU). “Everyone was in the agreement, maybe now is the time because before there was already a consensus ang lahat ng leader ng Palawan. Actually, gusto na yan noon pa sapagkat napakalaki, napakahirap ikutin ng Palawan. Ikot lang yon, basically. What more providing services, delivering projects and programs to our constituents, napakahirap talaga,” Socrates argued.
First District Board Member Winston Arzaga, on the other hand, dismissed fears the island will be easily snatched away by China once it is divided into three provinces. “If Palawan will be divided into three, it is easy for china to infiltrate Palawan and invade Palawan. Iyon po ung basis nung supposed to be analyst. Kasi daw kaibigan na ni Pres. Duterte ang mga Chinese. And then when three Governors run in three provinces will be susceptible to bribery.
“I think no right minded person can accept such presumption,” Arzaga explained. He further said, “Bago pa maka-infiltrate ang China sa Palawan, ibig sabihin nag-collapse na iyong National Government… the government is so inutil (Useless) that cannot defend its own territory. So, doon palang sablay na ang argumento pag na-invade ang Palawan, tulog yung Armed Forces of the Philippines, tulog ang Western Command. I simply cannot accept those kinds of arguments.”
Former Palawan Provincial Budget Officer Cesar Ventura, meanwhile, said Palawan may become one region if it is divided. “Kung hindi tayo magiging three provinces to qualify as regional or autonomous region, plano tayong invadin ngayon kasi wala tayong territory, there is no Palawan territory kaya pwede silang pumasok ngayon, pero kung gagawin we can have a region like the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region they have a regional water territory. So ang china kung papasok sa territory natin doon palang mahaharang na natin but now hindi natin sila maharang dahil wala tayong basis so it’s better to have this 3 in 1 Palawan.”
The three were in a Media Forum at Press Conference recently held at the Provincial Capitol on House Bill No. 8055 known as “An Act Dividing the Province of Palawan into Three (3) provinces, namely: Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental and Palawan del Sur”.