Business leader reiterates opposition to division of Camarines Sur

NAGA CITY (Jan 12, 2012) – It's a "NO" to the division of the province of Camarines Sur, said newly elected president of the Camarines Sur Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI-Camarine Sur) Solomon Ngo speaking in behalf of the business sector of the province.

Ngo made his first public statement on the issue after the chamber concluded its first 16-man Board of directors meeting for 2012, as the congressmen-proponents of the province's division push for a plebesite in the 2nd quarter of this year to ratify House Bill 4820 that proposes to create the new Nueva Camarines province.

Ngo stressed that the business sector, which has opposed the division of Camarines Sur from the start, does not see any guarantee that trade and commerce will accelerate in the two new Camarines provinces.

In response to claims by division proponents that the two Camarines provinces shall remain as two first class provinces in terms of land area and Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), Ngo said businessmen “follow the principle that if your business is big, you have to expand and not divide, which will weaken your credit line and reduce profit.”

Dividing a big province with vast potentials and resources will put its huge economic advantage and viability to waste, he claimed.

Ngo also pointed out that the transition period for the new provinces will be long and difficult with no assurance from the national government that it can finance the construction of new government centers and edifices as well as the basic social services for the new provinces.

Ngo also reminded division proponents not to belittle the province's gains in tourism because he receives frequent inquiries from Filipino-Chinese abroad on possible travels to Gota Beach in Caramoan and the CWC in Pili town.

These travel inquiries show that Camarines Sur is now in the world map of preferred tourist destinations and the division of the province will disrupt its attractiveness, he said.

League of Municipalities of Camarines Sur president and Buhi Mayor Rey Lacoste lauded PCCI-Camarines Sur for citing the uncertainties of the outcome of the province's division. He sees the chamber as an influential group that can sway opinions, having in its ranks bankers, traders, and leading industrialists in the province.