NEGROS Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson has expressed excitement on the possibility of reviving the Negros Island Region (NIR), as well as on the construction of the bridge linking the island with Guimaras and Panay.
Earlier, Bacolod City Mayor-elect Alfredo Benitez said these proposals had the support of incoming President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
With this, the governor said, he saw good things ahead for Negros Occidental.
"We have manifested before the advantages of NIR and it is still the same reason why we want it (back)," he said.
Lacson said that what is good right now is that the proposed NIR is going to be a law through the efforts of the congressmen from both Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental.
Eleven Negros Island lawmakers, seven of which from Negros Occidental, have all agreed to file the new NIR bill at the start of the 19th Congress on July 1, 2022.
Aside from them, Abang Lingkod Party-list Representative Stephen Joseph Paduano, as well as Siquijor congressman-elect, Zaldy Villa, will also join the move.
Negros Occidental Third District Representative Jose Francisco Benitez said on Saturday, June 18, that under the new bill, the cities of Bacolod and Dumagute will be the regional centers as they will host line agency offices.
NIR was established in 2015 during the time of the late President Benigno Simeon Aquino III through an executive order (EO).
It was, however, dissolved by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2017, also through an EO, citing lack of funds.
In a related development, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, who is set to lead the Senate in the 19th Congress, has committed to file and spearhead the NIR Act in the upper chamber.
He originally filed the bill in November 2021, in a bid to bring Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Bacolod City under a single administrative region.
"I thank President-elect Bongbong Marcos for assuring us, this early on, of his support for the creation of the Negros Island Region," Zubiri said.
"There has been a long history behind the NIR, and my fellow Negrenses are eager to see its establishment after decades of lobbying," he said.
Zubiri, whose family hails from Kabankalan City in Negros Occidental, also said that at present, Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental belong to separate administrative regions – Western Visayas and Central Visayas, respectively.
"This has long posed a challenge for Negrenses, whose access to government services and offices are hampered by geographic and administrative barriers," he said.
In response to this, the NIR was finally created in May 2015 through Executive Order 183, Zubiri recalled.
In 2016, however, the executive remarked that the region was proving to be too costly, and was no longer deemed a priority of the government, he said.
"The abolishment of the NIR was a setback, but with the new administration's support, I am very hopeful that we can finally reestablish the region, under the proper legislative framework this time," the Negrense senator said.
"Once we establish the NIR, we will be able to hasten the development of Negros Island, and give it its own dedicated regional offices," he said, adding that it is the main point behind the establishment of the region-making government services accessible to the people.
With those in place, Zubiri assured that it will be able to lay down the groundwork to make Negros a center of commerce and tourism in the Visayas region.
"As someone with paternal roots in Kabankalan, Negros, I am prepared to continue advocating for the NIR in the incoming Congress... The NIR has long been a primary concern of my fellow Negrenses, and I am committed to spearheading the bill, for the continued growth of the region," he said.