LGUs in the Philippines

Province of Mactan? Gwen says not so fast.

John Sitchon, Lorraine Ecarma

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Province of Mactan? Gwen says not so fast.

MACTAN PROVINCE. Mayor Junard Chan of Lapu-Lapu City and Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia.

Mactan Island image from Shutterstock

A proposal to divide Cebu into four provinces was also made in 2007, and was widely opposed by local government chiefs in Cebu Island, as well as civil society groups

CEBU, Philippines – Could there be a new province of Mactan coming soon? 

Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Ahong Chan brought up the idea in a forum on Tuesday, July 5.

“That’s the dream of Secretary Addy Sitoy, that Lapu-Lapu will become a province of Mactan, including the municipality of Cordova,” Chan said, referring to the late mayor of Cordova. Adelino Sitoy also served as Presidential Legislative Liaison Office secretary of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

Why create a separate province?

This is not the first time the idea of was floated. 

In 2013, Aileen Radaza, then-congresswoman of Lapu-Lapu City, made the same proposal to make Mactan its own province.

According to a story in the Inquirer, Radaza said the creation of Mactan Province “has long been thought of by my father after the successful creation of Lapu-Lapu City’s lone congressional district.”

Chan said he thought the creation would help the development of the local government units of Cebu. 

Dako kaayo ni siya og tabang kung mahimong probinsya ang Lapu-Lapu because syempre naa ta kaugalingong governor, and we’ll have a separate budget para niana,” Chan said. (That would be a big help if we [Lapu-Lapu] became a province because we’d have our own governor and budget for that.)

He said that if Lapu-Lapu plus Cordova become Mactan province, then Olango Island could become a municipality and get the corresponding resources to develop.

“If Olango will become a municipality, they will have a separate budget. If we look at it, they’re really neglected. Lapu-Lapu is rich, but we should pity Olango,” Chan said in Cebuano.

Olango is a remote island, but technically part of the jurisdiction of Lapu-Lapu. The island was one of the worst hit during Typhoon Odette in December 2021.

Also part of Mactan is the town of Cordova. While Lapu-Lapu is an independent city, Cordova on the island’s southern end, is part of Cebu province.

Why does Governor Garcia oppose the idea?

This is where Governor Gwendolyn Garcia objected to the idea of letting the island break from Cebu. 

“You know what my position is. I was and I am and will always be against Sugbuak. And I know that the people of Cebu agree with me,” Garcia said during a press conference on Tuesday.

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This is in reference to a shelved proposal in 2007 to divide Cebu province into four separate provinces.

This was widely opposed by local government chiefs in Cebu Island, as well as civil society groups.

The move to divide Cebu is also where the local and influential 1Cebu party derives its name. It was formed in 2007 to counter efforts to divide the region’s most economically progressive island.

Most recently, the party was credited for helping deliver over 1.5 million votes for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and 1.7 million votes for Vice President Sara Duterte. (READ: Cebu turns red: Former opposition bailiwick gives Marcos his biggest win)

Under the Local Government Code, any law passed by Congress pertaining to the creation of a new province would require the approval of constituents through a majority vote in a plebiscite.

If a new “Province of Mactan” would include the municipality of Cordova, Garcia said the plebiscite would have to include the constituents of the province of Cebu.

While Mactan is separate from mainland Cebu, it is where Cebu’s only international airport is located. A third bridge, the Cebu Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) also recently opened connecting the town of Cordova with Cebu City.

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The highly popular governor, who recently began her second term after gaining a record-breaking 1.4 million votes in the 2022 election, would surely campaign against any effort to divide Cebu.

Later on Tuesday, Chan clarified that the idea of creating a new province of Mactan was just an idea and “not a priority.”

To this, Garcia said, “I hope it will never become one because there are more things to focus on.” – Rappler.com

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