PROVINCIAL Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said the Province has the autonomy to transfer the provincial Capitol under the Local Government Code.
Diaz was tasked by Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson to study the plan of moving the provincial capitol from Bacolod City to Talisay City.
Diaz said it only takes three-fourths vote of all the members of the Provincial Board to transfer the capitol, the seat of power of the Provincial Government.
"We don't have to wait for the National Government to transfer our capital, if that is what is going to be," he pointed out.
Diaz said he was mandated to discuss with the Provincial Engineer's Office in the documentation of the transfer of PAC building from Bacolod City to Talisay City to determine its variation.
Lacson has confirmed plans to relocate the seat of the Provincial Government to a 25-hectare property in Barangay Matab-ang, Talilsay City that was bought by the Provincial Government during the time of the late Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr.
Lacson cited potential of the 25-hectare property as a growth center.
The present site of the Capitol is congested and is now a commercial area, he added.
The original plan was for the Provincial Government to construct a P900 million new Provincial Administration Center on a 16,000-square-meter lot in Aguinaldo Street to Gatuslao Street in Bacolod City.
It is really wise to put it elsewhere, where it can spur economic growth, Diaz said.
"The opportunity was taken advantage of by Governor Lacson, Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, former representative Alfredo Benitez and other Negrense solons, to develop a growth center in other Negros Occidental cities," he added.
The 25-hectare property will not be only a home to the Provincial Government, but regional offices as well, Diaz said, adding that it would mean an efficient service to Negrosanons, as it will become a one-stop-shop.
In a statement, Mayor Neil Lizares thanked Lacson for considering Talisay City "as the new home of the Provincial Government offices."
"We welcome this new development, as this will bring economic opportunities for growth and progress to our City, and as partners in rebuilding our province," Lizares said.