(Photo courtesy of the Biliran Provincial Government.)
Biliran a new province
By Rolando O. Borrinaga
TACLOBAN CITY – At long last, the quest is over.
All that is needed now is the presidential proclamation formally converting the sub-province of Biliran into a regular province, and the appointment of its first full set of executive and legislative officials by the president.
Official results of a plebiscite conducted simultaneously with the May 11 national elections in Biliran and its mother province of Leyte showed that three-out-of-four Leyteños approved of the proposed conversion of Biliran into a separate, regular province. Of the total votes cast in the plebiscite, 157,808 or 77.5 percent were “yes” votes; only 45,851 votes or 22.5 percent were cast against the proposal.
The conduct of the plebiscite was mandated under Section 462 of the Local Government Code of 1991.
Biliran becomes the sixth province of Region VIII. It consists of eight towns: the seven towns of Biliran Island – Almeria, Biliran, Cabucgayan, Caibiran, Culaba, Kawayan, and Naval – and the island town of Maripipi. Its capital is the town of Naval.
Biliran has a total land area of 555.42 square kilometers and a population of 118,012 (as of the 1990 census). It was classified as a fifth class province with an average annual income of P5,657,233.05 between 1987 and 1990, higher than comparable figures for the provinces of Camiguin, Siquijor and Batanes.
The sub-province was created 33 years ago with the enactment of Republic Act No. 2141 on April 8, 1959. Its creation antedated the creation of Southern Leyte by a month and the break-up of Samar into three provinces four years later. But Biliran got stuck in its status as a sub-province.
The tortuous and decades-old quest for the provincehood of Biliran was a long story itself. This was featured in a two-part article by Danny C. Petilla in the INQUIRER four years ago on June 22-23, 1988. The “Biliran series” helped bring national attention to the plight of the neglected sub-province.
The conversion of Biliran into a province formally dismantles one of the worst structures of “internal colonization” in the country, according to an unpublished paper of the Movement for the Provincehood of Biliran (MPB), the main lobby group for the provincehood campaign. Three decades of being as “as if” province guaranteed the lack of equitable government services for the people of Biliran, who were merely extended token provincial-level facilities and personnel by most government agencies.
Home