EDITORIAL - Kill bills

It is true the ultimate arbiter on the question of whether or not Cebu should be broken up into four provinces would be the Cebuanos themselves, who will be asked to pass judgment on the proposals in a plebiscite, granting the bills seeking the breakup pass Congress.

But to wait for that one final chance to stamp a crucial sentiment on a crucial proposal is to put too much at risk. It is like putting your life's earnings on a single shot from outside the three-point arc in a basketball court.

It can be done but it is a risk not worth taking. Besides, the proponents are unfairly free of any liability just in case the Cebuanos decide against a breakup. Reps. Simeon Kintanar, Antonio Yapha and Clavel Martinez can walk away whistling, as if nothing happened.

On the contrary, while the Cebuanos have everything to lose, the three have everything to gain, which is in fact why they are moving heaven and earth to push their proposals. If they gain nothing from it, why the heck would they tamper with something that has nothing wrong with it.

Now, some people are placing too much emphasis and faith on the plebiscite. The Cebuanos are being deliberately mesmerized by the notion of being vested with the sovereign authority to determine their own fate through the vote.

What is being deliberately left out of the picture is that there is a possibility this crucial political exercise can be manipulated. We have always insisted that cheating did not determine the outcome of the last election and we stick by that assertion.

Our insistence on that assertion is born of the fact that President Arroyo, who won the election on the crest of her million-plus-vote majority in Cebu, did not have to cheat here, at least at the time, for virtually all Cebuano political leaders were then her allies.

But the plebiscite on the breakup of Cebu into four provinces, if it comes to that, is a different situation. This time, Cebuanos will be fighting Cebuanos. As in every fight within a family, things can get real ugly and nasty.

So, when things get to that, rules on fair play and decency are often ignored and cast aside. With so much at stake, things can get so ugly and nasty it would be a " blessing " if only cheating occurred.

Two things can give rise to cheating -- desperation of the people involved and closeness of the intramurals. Both elements, even at this stage, are already very apparent. It is better then not to get to the point of plebiscite. The Kintanar-Yapha-Martinez bills must be killed.