Country crab

Hurry, and take a good look at how the political crabs in our country are trying to pull down the man behind the miracle we know as “CamSur.”

That is the province of Camarines Sur in the Bicol region, now world famous for its CamSur Water Sports Complex (site of the “Iron Man” triathlon competition) and Caramoan Island.

In fact, CamSur is the country’s top tourist draw today, beating Boracay Island, Cebu and—yes—Metro Manila. This province is well on the way to posting yearly visitors of two million.

The man behind the province’s marketing campaign to become a leading tourism spot is none other than the 43-year-old provincial governor, Luis Raymund Villafuerte, the son of former provincial governor and congressman Luis Villafuerte Sr.

Based on recent media reports, coming out all at the same time with one particular message, the young Villafuerte seems to be the target of political intrigues.

For instance, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo announced to media that he was “coordinating” with the Commission on Audit (CoA) on the plunder charges against Villafuerte. Again—it is a case of “plunder.”

Robredo also comes from Bicol. From what I heard, he is an estranged relative of the young Villafuerte. It is said that politics also had something to do with their spat.

Anyway, the DILG boss may do all the “coordinating” he wants with all the thousands of government outfits in this country, but the guys down here in my barangay know that when a politico uses the word “coordinating,” it simply means he has no idea what the issue is all about.

As it turned out, there is no single case of plunder pending against Villafuerte.

Moreover, Robredo may have been informed (via whispers from some political crabs in Bicol) about a CoA report pointing out lapses in financial management in the provincial capitol.

I know that they were not—what was the word again—“charges,” as Villafuerte’s obvious political enemies would put it. CoA issues such notices, precisely, for the audited outfit (such as the Camarines Sur provincial government) to correct some booking or accounting practices.

Before I forget, from what I gathered, Villafuerte had to fend off some nine—yes, nine, as in “wholesale” filing—complaints filed against him before the Ombudsman. If my memory serves me right, most of them have been dismissed at the onset. All nine complaints came from one individual. Wholesale!

Just who exactly funded such a virulent campaign, is an entirely different story.

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Now, another angle to the drag-down-Villafuerte campaign is taking shape in the House of Representatives.

A congressman from Camarines Sur, who looks like Rep. Arnulfo Fuentabella, who was the Speaker of the House during the time of former President Joseph Estrada, is pushing for a bill to divide the province.
Fuentabella will have served out his legal limit of three terms in the House by 2013. He can run for the Senate, if he dares, or he can run for governor of the province.

Based on his record as provincial governor, Villafuerte may prove to be harder to beat than Manny Paquiao. Enter House Bill No. 4728, authored by Fuentabella, seeking to create the new province, called “Nueva Camarines,” carved out from two districts of the existing Camarines Sur.

Included in the proposed new province is the famous Caramoan Island, which is right in the center of the tourism master plan that the young Villafuerte created and is now implementing for the province. Fair enough!

But this small country (with total land area of about 300,000 square kilometers) already has some 81 provinces.

In comparison, China (more than nine million square kilometers) has all of 23 provinces, and Indonesia (almost two million square kilometers) has 30 provinces. The Philippines, with a land area not even nearing the size of one province in China, has more than 80 provinces, and still counting.

What happens with such a fragmented local government units? A few years ago, the German foundation called Konrad Adenauer Stiftung commissioned a study to try to answer the question.

Never mind that creating a new province would cost almost P1 billion today.

It is just that the study found out that fragmented local government units make them financially “anemic.” Why? Too many LGUs mean too much duplication of a lot of government functions. Two Camarines provinces would need two sets of provincial government units. Can the province really afford it?

* * *

The province has turned around, from being the 39th poorest province in the country to becoming among the top 10 in net income, based on CoA records.

And so it made dramatic progress in terms of the provincial government’s delivery of basic services to the people. Malnutrition rate is sharply down, for instance, and palay production is rising fast.

According to a report by the UNDP (United Nations Development Program), the province was one of the “most improved” provinces in the country.
Camarines Sur may be a long way to go toward riches, but it is definitely on the way, with the momentum already set with the implementation of its tourism master plan by the young Villafuerte.

That means Villafuerte has a bright future in provincial, or even nationwide, politics. And so it is time to drag him down, thanks to those crabs.

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Here is something for those in my age bracket: The law firm CVCLAW, in partnership with BDO Private Bank, is holding a lecture entitled “A Seminar on Estate Planning: Harmonizing Goals for the Family, Wealth Management and Taxes.” It will be held on July 28 at the CVCLAW Center in Bonifacio Global City. Guest speakers are lawyer Sylvette Y. Tankiang, CVCLAW co-managing partner and CFO; Joel Mendoza, BDO SVP, and lawyer Clarissa M. Penalosa, BDO first VP and trust counsel.