Deputy Nelson Jackson Palma, of circuit 3-2, filed Draft Bill 220 on October 21, 2026, which creates the Villa del Carmen township, carved out of the El Guásimo township, in the Donoso district, Colón province. The initiative is at the preliminary stage, pending committee sponsorship, and is assigned to the Municipal Affairs Committee.

Its article 1 creates the new township and its article 2 amends article 16 of Law 1 of 1982, so the Donoso district would have six townships, with boundaries described by coordinates. Articles 3 and 4 list the communities of each township; Villa del Carmen would include places such as Nueva Concepción, Caña Blanca, Hinojal, El Ají, Ortigal and San José. According to the statement of purpose, El Guásimo covers 295.6 square kilometers and has 3,494 residents, per the 2023 census; after the split, Villa del Carmen would have 141.8 square kilometers and 1,696 residents.

The fiscal component is in articles 5 and 6. The Municipality of Donoso would have to provide the resources to set up the township's infrastructure and administrative organization until its first representative is elected in 2029, and until then Villa del Carmen would receive at least the same funds and benefits as the other townships, plus those derived from the decentralization provided for in Law 37 of 2009. Article 8 assigns advisory duties to the Ministry of Government, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the National Institute of Statistics and Census and the Tommy Guardia National Geographic Institute, among others.

The statement of purpose describes an area with agricultural and tourism potential, but with road isolation, poor health services and crop losses due to the lack of roads. Creating the township could channel decentralization transfers to those communities, although the draft bill does not assign amounts or specific works, and the split would divide between two townships a municipal budget that does not grow on its own.

The effect depends on the legislative process. The draft bill must be sponsored by the committee and approved in three readings before being signed into law, and the new township's elected representation would only arrive with the 2029 elections. Meanwhile, the setup cost would fall on the Municipality of Donoso. Nexo Capital will follow Draft Bill 220.

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