4Ps party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan is batting for the creation of a new Samar Island Region in a bid to decentralize and boost the delivery of essential government services to the least developed provinces in the country.
Libanan filed House Bill No. 10727 citing the three provinces of Northern Samar, Samar and Eastern Samar, including their cities, municipalities and barangays as composite areas of the proposed new Samar Island Region.
“Our measure, once enacted, will expedite the dispensing of national government services to the communities of the three Samar provinces,” he said.
Regional Development Council to drive economic growth and jobs creation,” he added.
If approved, the Samar Island Region would become the country’s 19th administrative region.
This means all national government line departments, such as health, education and social services must put up regional offices in the new region.
The bill does not specify the seat of the Samar Island Region, but proposes the creation of a technical working group that would recommend to the Office of the President the preferred site of the regional center.
