Governor Amy Alvarez said the national government should recognize Palawan and give the province its share of the proceeds from the newly discovered natural gas deposit in Malampaya East 1.
Despite hosting major energy projects, Alvarez said Palawan has not received national support. She also highlighted the role of companies operating in the gas field in providing assistance through their corporate social responsibility programs.
“No matter what awards we have, like number 1 island in the world, pero number 1 din tayo nakalimutan sa shares, sa mga tulong from national government,” she said during a press conference last Tuesday.
Even before the ME1 discovery, 2nd District and 3rd District Representatives Jose Alvarez and Gil Acosta Jr. filed House Bill 5571 seeking the “establishment of a revenue-sharing scheme for host provinces in revenues generated by the national government from mining and energy operations.”
Members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan have also pushed for a similar wealth-sharing scheme.
Alvarez said Palawan often receives less attention from the national government.
“Minsan mag-promote sila, dyan lang sa Visayas or dyan lang sa Mindanao pero ang Palawan wala,” she said.
She cited the proposal to establish a specialty hospital in Irawan as one of the measures being pushed.
“So hopefully, matupad yung proposal ni Cong. Gil na magkaroon tayo ng specialty hospital dito sa Irawan,” she said.
The governor said she has had to directly engage national agencies and work with the province’s lawmakers to secure funding.
“Kailangan talaga makipag-usap with everyone else sa national agencies para makakuha ng additional funding just to make sure na may impact yung projects sa isang taon,” she said.
Alvarez said health services remain a priority, but district hospitals continue to lack support, particularly from the Department of Health.
“Yun talaga ang focus ko, ang dream ko na all our district hospitals will be interconnected. Lahat ng taga-Palawan or anyone from anywhere can go to our district hospitals and receive free medical care,” she said.
She said many district hospitals still lack facilities for specialized treatment.
“Marami tayong kulang na facilities. Even sa heart lang, no one can do angiogram here. Kung ma-stroke ang isang patient, wala na, uuwi na lang na walang next step like halimbawa kailangan pala ng bypass,” she said.
