Bicol's newest province?

It seems that the creation of the province of Nueva Camarines is already a done deal for all intents and purposes.

House Bill 4820, the amended version of HB 4728 proposing the creation of the province of Nueva Camarines, was passed on third and final reading by the House of Representatives by an overwhelming 229-1 vote. Camarines Sur Rep. Salvio Fortuno is the lone dissenting vote.

There are those who say that while Fortuno is really supporting Nueva Camarines’ establishment, his blind allegiance to Camarines Sur Gov. Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte, under whom he had once served as vice governor, may have forced him to vote against his better judgment.

Four of the five CamSur congressmen, namely Reps. Arnulfo Fuentebella, Luis Villafuerte Jr., Dato Arroyo and Rolando Andaya Jr., and 24 of the 35 mayors of Camarines Sur pushed for the passage of the bill dividing Camarines Sur into two first-class provinces.

The passage of the bill is not without fanfare though. LRay and Fortuna have claimed that the bill was not subjected to public hearings, which was of course disputed by House local government committee chair and Negros Oriental Rep. George Arnaiz.

At one point, Fortuno himself pointed out that the 4th  and 5th Districts of Camarines Sur are the poorest in the province, exposing LRay’s neglect and withholding of provincial support and internal revenue allotment (IRA) to districts that are not his political bailiwicks or areas that have fallen from his grace.

The 4th and 5th districts, with a population of about 800,000, will form Nueva Camarines if the bill is passed into law and is approved by the people of CamSur in a plebiscite.

Meanwhile, the National Nutrition Council (NNC) said that among Bicol’s six provinces and seven cities, Camarines Sur emerged with the most undernourished pre-school children aged zero to-17 months based on WHO’s Child Growth Standard using weight-for-age indicator.

There are those who are also disputing LRay’s claim that Camarines Sur has emerged as the top tourism destination in the country, eclipsing even world-famous Boracay.

According to Albay Governor Joey Salceda, who cited data from the Department of Tourism, Albay hosted 51,087 foreign tourists compared to Camarines Sur’s 11,669 foreign visitors in the first quarter of 2011.

So how can CamSur be the top tourism draw in the country when it is not even the No.1 tourist attraction in Bicol?

There are also those questioning LRay’s claim that 1.8 million foreign and local tourists made CamSur No.1 nationwide in 2010.

Camarines Sur’s tourism earnings for 2010 did not even reach P1 billion. How then can CamSur claim 1.8 million tourists and show so little income from such a big number of claimed tourists?

And then of course, there is still this unresolved issue of LRay allegedly having a vested and very personal interest in promoting Republic Wake Park Nuvali, a direct competitor of his province’s CamSur Watersport Complex (CWC).

It is claimed that based on the certificate of Incorporation of Republic Wake Parks Inc., LRay’s sons Miguel Luis and Julio Mari were among five people who incorporated Republic Wake Parks, the operator of Laguna’s wakeboarding attraction that is now luring many extreme sports tourists away from CWC.

In the end, it will be the people of CamSur who will decide the fate of Nueva Camarines. And LRay.

Overstaying LTFRB official

Transportation and Communications Secretary Mar Roxas should look into the case of an overstaying member of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB). 

Well, you see, this guy is reportedly over and above the compulsory retirement age of 65 years old. And according to Section 12, Rule XIII of the Revised Omnibus Rules on Appointments and Other Personnel Actions, “no person who has reached compulsory retirement age of 65 can be appointed to any position in the government, except to primarily confidential positions, provided that the appointment shall be under temporary status.”

In one case, the Supreme Court clarified that a person who has already reached the compulsory retirement age of 65 years old may only be appointed provided that the position to which he is to be appointed is considered primarily confidential and that it is under temporary status. 

But the position of LTFRB Board member is not a Primarily Confidential and Temporary position.

In addition, this board member has completely ignored with the provisions of Executive Order 136, which requires approval by the President of requests for extension of services of presidential appointees beyond the compulsory retirement age.

Simply put, this guy’s stay at LTFRB is without legal basis.

Messy transition

Nobody expected that when Negros Navigation acquired Aboitiz Transport System (ATS) from the Aboitiz group, it would be this messy.

Aside from the fact that a number of key ATS officials have already resigned, we have learned that the former company president turned non-executive chairman has been very successful with the backing of the Kuwaiti owners of Negros Navigation (minority group in Negros Navigation/ATS) in putting him back as president, this time of Nenaco/ATS.

With him back at the helm as overlord, he is reportedly in vengeance mode.

While it is expected that in any merger or buyout, duplication of work and responsibilities will crop up, being just and fair in treating employees to be retrenched should be the norm.

Double standard treatment of employees has never been part of good governance protocol.

ATS people being retrenched are getting only one month in compensation for every year of service rendered. Their counterparts in Negros Navigation meanwhile are getting one and a half months,. This is regardless of experience, seniority and overall ability and capability of the employee to be retrenched.

For as long as one is a Negros Navigation employee, he can expect a better retrenchment package than if he were from ATS.

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