DIVIDE ANTIQUE. The Antique Provincial Board during its regular session on July 14, 2022. Antique Board Member Karmila Rose Dimamay said on Wednesday (Sept. 7, 2022) they will pass an en banc resolution on Sept. 8 for the province to be divided into two districts. (PNA file photo by Annabel Consuelo J. Petinglay)
ILOILO CITY – The Antique Provincial Board will try for the third time to call for the province to be divided into two districts with the expected approval of a resolution during its regular session on Thursday.
The resolution will be addressed to Senator Loren Legarda, Antique Lone District Rep. Antonio Agapito “AA” Legarda, and Coop-NATCCO (Cooperative-National Confederation of Cooperatives) party-list Rep. Felimon Espares, who is also from Antique, said Board Member Karmila Rose Dimamay in an interview on Wednesday.
“Through the en banc resolution, we hope we could express our strong sentiment for Antique to already be divided into two districts,” Dimamay said.
She added that it would be the third time the provincial board will pass the resolution for the province to be divided into two districts.
The first two were passed by the previous provincial boards.
Antique Governor Rhodora J. Cadiao said on Tuesday that she was informed of the ongoing signature campaign urging Rep. Legarda to sponsor a bill for the province to be split into two districts.
“The signature campaign for the division of the province could be beneficial to the people considering that there will be two congressmen who will be attending to their needs,” Cadiao said.
The signature campaign spearheaded by the Liga ng mga Barangay is an independent move from that of the provincial board.
Cadiao added that the province of Antique has an elongated shape that the people in the northern towns could hardly access the services of the offices of the governor and congressman located in the capital town of San Jose de Buenavista located in the south.
Should the division pushes through, the municipalities of Anini-y, Tobias Fornier, Hamtic, San Jose de Buenavista, Sibalom, San Remigio, Belison and Valderrama will be under the south district while the towns of Patnongon, Barbaza, Bugasong, Caluya, Culasi, Laua-an, Libertad, Pandan, Sebaste and Tibiao will belong to the north district. (PNA)
