Province of Aurora

As per PLAI Constitution of 2001, and the subsequent organization of the 16 councils, it is stated that the Southern Tagalog Region Librarians Council (STRLC) is composed of registered librarians from the provinces of Aurora, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Palawan, Marinduque, Rizal and Romblon.

In 2002, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Executive Order No. 103 dividing Region IV into Region IV-A and Region IV-B, transferring the province of Aurora to Region III and for other purposes. During the PLAI House of Delegates (HOD) deliberations of the Proposed Revisions of the PLAI Constitution last July 28 2007, the issue on which Council shall Aurora province be included was discussed. The HOD delegate from Region III insisted that Aurora province should be included in their Council as per E.O. No. 103 as legal basis.

A related article entitled "Aurora officials ask recall of executive order transfering province to Region 3" written by Magtanggol C. Vilar for the Provincial News section of the Manila Bulletin is interesting and instructive to note. This can be a backgrounder for another round of discussions from where we can arrive at a consensus and thus serve as future basis for all possible inclusion/exclusion of a certain province in one council to another. With a group decision, we minimize future misunderstandings and conflicts.

Let it be crystal clear though that we are not against the transfer of Aurora nor are we questioning the basis of the transfer. We would like instead to throw the issue to you, fellow librarians and friends, so that we can seriously discuss, share thoughts and ideas regarding this minor issue. Which is the more logical & practical in the long term for PLAI Regional Council: the one based on the current political subdivision of our country or devise a new subdivision (purely geographical perhaps?) devoid of political color? We believed that the sooner we mutually agreed on this issue, the long term benefits will accrue & Regional Council is more stable rather than now we have 16 regional councils then maybe 17-18 or more regional councils next time with some reshuffling of provinces depending upon our President or Congress future action and thus disrupt Regional Council organization & operations?

We would love to hear from you. Your individual idea counts a lot. If our collective ideas are collaborated, we could strive for better times for our beloved association. (RBManlangit and AAnday)