Nueva Camarines

Page Eleven

By ELINANDO B. CINCO

August 25, 2011, 10:29pm

 

MANILA, Philippines — Camarines Sur is now a first-class province in the Bicol Region primarily because it was able to develop its tourist industry in recent years. However, poverty is still a big problem, especially in far-flung areas, and the provincial government seems unable to effectively deliver vital social services where they are needed most. Case in point: When the last typhoon hit CamSur, many areas became heavily flooded, sending many people to evacuation sites.

Now there is a bill, already passed by the House of Representatives, that would carve out the new province of Nueva Camarines from the 4th and 5th districts of CamSur. The principal author of House Bill 4728 and its amended final version, HB 4820, is Deputy Speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella, who represents the 5th district.

At the heart of Fuentebella’s proposed Nueva Camarines is a vision of a better future for the residents of the northeastern section of the province known as the Partido District.

The Partido District was once an isolated area which was dismally underdeveloped – no modern water system, no efficient telecommunications services, no major road network backbone system, and no rapid electrification program. Poverty was also prevalent, despite its belonging to a first-class province. Human development in health and education was generally weak with the absence of major schools and hospitals. There were also no strategic efforts to develop the potential growth sectors (agriculture and tourism) which would have provided jobs and income to many residents.

To address the glaring underdevelopment of the district, Rep. Fuentebella authored the creation of the Partido Development Administration through Republic Act No. 7820, structuring PDA as a corporate body that would undertake a comprehensive and integrated development program for the 10 municipalities comprising the district.

With the PDA, infrastructure development went into high gear. A major project completed in 1997 as a direct result of the PDA's creation is the Caramoan Peninsula “all-weather” road. The vital road links the coastal municipalities of Presentacion, Garchitorena, and Caramoan to the mainland municipalities.

The construction/rehabilitation of bridges and ports has also been given due attention by the PDA. As of September 2007, there were 107 national bridges and 42 provincial bridges in the district.

In 1995, only 187 out of the 299 barangays in the third district benefited from electric power. To address this situation, the PDA tapped three power sources: Grid, solar, and stand-by generating sets. By 2005, all of the 299 barangays in the district had been energized.

In 1992, only four municipalities were able to avail of communications services that were neither efficient nor dependable. Upon PDA’s invitation, communications investors came in, expanded the lines reaching more towns and households. It also accelerated the building of social and physical infrastructures.

Previously lacking sorely in excellent educational institutions, the Partido State University was established in 2001 to train and educate the young people of the district according to its manpower requirements.

The public and private sectors are now working together to provide health services in the district, with various firms sponsoring medical missions from time to time.

The PDA has also conducted irrigation mapping to identify the status of irrigation and now implements an integrated irrigation system, apart from building more farm-to-market roads and post-harvest facilities in the district.

Plans are ongoing to further promote the Partido District as an attractive tourist destination. The development of the district's world-class tourism sites is continuing. With its white sand beaches and massive limestone formations, Caramoan combines characteristics of both Boracay and Palawan.

Apart from developing tourism, the PDA is also focused on mining. It has already prepared an investment profile and inventory of the district's mineral resources.

The result of all this has been lower poverty incidence in the Partido District, as certified by the Congressional Planning and Budget Department of Congress.

Now Rep. Fuentebella wants to further accelerate the pace of development in the 4th and 5th districts of CamSur, through the proposal to create the new province of Nueva Camarines.

He deserves all the support he can get, particularly from the senators who will soon deliberate on his House Bill 4820.