Lawmakers from Samar Island are urging the creation of a new administrative region, separate from Eastern Visayas, to boost economic growth and make government services more accessible to residents.
House Minority Leader and 4Ps Party-list Representative Marcelino Libanan led the filing of House Bill No. 4218, or the proposed “One Samar Island Region Act,” which seeks to establish a distinct regional government for Samar Island.
Eastern Samar Lone District Representative Christopher Sheen Gonzales, Samar 1st District Representative Stephen James Tan, Samar 2nd District Representative Reynolds Michael Tan, Northern Samar 1st District Representative Niko Raul Daza, and Northern Samar 2nd District Representative Edwin Marino Ongchuan co-authored the measure.
The lawmakers said the creation of a separate region would correct decades of underdevelopment and help unlock the island’s economic potential.
They emphasized that Samar’s current inclusion under Eastern Visayas limits access to government programs and services since residents must travel to Tacloban City and Palo, Leyte, to transact with regional offices.
Another autonomous region
Under the bill, a Samar Island Technical Working Group (TWG) will oversee the transition toward regional autonomy.
The TWG will include representatives from the Office of the President, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the provincial governments of Northern Samar, Samar, and Eastern Samar, along with their district representatives.
The TWG will design the institutional framework for the proposed region, recommend the location of the regional center, and prepare the organizational, staffing, and budgetary structures of national government agencies that will operate within the island. It will also draft development and investment programs to support long-term economic growth.
Samar, the country’s third-largest island, covers 13,428.8 square kilometers and is home to about 1.9 million people across its three provinces—Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, and Samar.
Lawmakers believe the proposed region will enable the island to manage its own development priorities, attract more investments, and achieve sustained progress long delayed under the existing administrative setup.*
Reymund Titong is a Filipino journalist steadily building his voice in the field of news reporting, driven by a commitment to tell meaningful and relevant stories.
He serves as a correspondent for Rappler, maintains a personal blog on Medium, and is the communications officer of Hope Builders Organization Negros Island.