NegOcc guv willing to reach out with NegOr guv despite opposing stand on NIR revival

Despite opposing stand on Negros Island Revival, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson is willing to reach out with Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo to thresh out the issue.  (File Photos)
Despite opposing stand on Negros Island Revival, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson is willing to reach out with Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo to thresh out the issue. (File Photos)

“SAD news.”

This was how Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson on Wednesday, December 7 described the latest pronouncement of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo opposing the revival of the Negros Island Region (NIR).

"We have already senators who pushed for NIR (which means) we will continue to support that stand," Lacson said.

Degamo, during the fourth Regional Development Council-Central Visayas (RDC-7) Full Council Meeting held at a hotel in Cebu City on Tuesday, December 6, said he sees "no problem with Negros Oriental continuing to be part of Central Visayas region."

The governor, who attended the meeting virtually, cited cultural differences between Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental.

He said Negros Oriental would rather prefer with Cebuano-speaking people of Bohol, Cebu and Siquijor provinces.

"It should not be done in a hastily manner because there are a lot of issues that we are going to take here. For example, the cultural differences between Ilonggos and Bisaya (Cebuano-speaking)," Degamo pointed out.

He said there will also be a problem on where to put the regional offices of the various government agencies should NIR be created.

"So as governor of Negros Oriental, I believe it must be done properly. There are a lot of pros and cons in the creation of NIR," he also said.

Lacson is willing to reach out with Degamo to convince the latter to change his position on the matter just like what the late Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr., did before.

Earlier, Negros Occidental Sixth District Rep. Mercedes Alvarez-Lansang said that the provincial government of Negros Oriental has not submitted yet their position paper as requested by the House Committee on Local Government Technical Working Group (TWG)

"The Committee has sent him requests in October and November but until now he has not submitted his position paper," she said.

Alvarez - Lansang, co- chairman of the TWG tasked to consolidate all proposed NIR bills, added that all the three congressmen in Negros Oriental are co- authors of the bills seeking the revival of NIR.

Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito, Senate Committee on Local Government chairman, on Monday said that they approved five bills seeking to revive NIR.

Several bills filed by the representatives of Negros Island and Siquijor seeking the creation of the NIR are also pending before the House Committee on Local Government.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, author of one of the bills filed on the NIR, said they "want to bring the government closer to the people."

Meanwhile, Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has expressed support to the proposal to the revival of NIR to include Siquijor Province.

Benitez said yesterday, December 7, that the House of Representatives has asked his opinion on the matter.

He already forwarded his reply to Valenzuela First District Representative Rex Gatchalian, who is the chairman on Local Government, on November 11.

“At the outset, I commend the authors of the subject House Bills for sustaining the dream of One Negros. Considering, however, the shared geography, history and economic objectives of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor, I wish to express my full support to the proposal to create a new region composed of these three provinces, ,” the mayor added.

Benitez stressed that forming a new region will ultimately benefit the people of its constituents’ provinces.

Aside from that, it will also bring National Government Agencies (NGA) closer to the people as regional offices (RO) will be located within shorter distance from their place of residence.

He said it will cut travel cost and travel time of constituents transacting with RO.

“To illustrate, currently Region VI, composed of six provinces and two highly- urbanized cities, represents a population of 7.95 million. Meanwhile, Region VIII or Eastern Visayas, composed of six provinces and one highly-urbanized city, has a constituency of 4.55 million,” he explained.

He noted that if Region VI is divided into two regions, one consisting of four Panay Island provinces and Guimaras (Region VI-A), and one comprising the two Negros Island provinces (Region VI-B), if including Siquijor, the two regions will both represent roughly the same number of people-4.73 million in Region VI-A, and 4.66 million in Negros Island (or around 4.76 million in Region VI-B if including Siquijor).

He said consolidating the provinces of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental into one region will promote economic integration and enhance economic planning, considering that the two provinces share vast resources and porous border.

“It must be noted, however, that Siquijor was also once part of Negros Oriental. As declared by Governor General Valeriano Weyler in January 1892, Siquijor was annexed to Negros Oriental. Only in 1971, upon the enactment of Republic Act 6389, was Siquijor separated from Negros Oriental and became an independent province. Indeed, to honor this history, Siquijor should not be separated from Negros Oriental in the reorganization of administrative regions in Visayas,” Benitez recalled.

He said the proposal to create a new region comprising Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor is not without precedent in the evolution of the Philippine Administrative system.

In 2015, President Benigno Aquino III issued Executive Order No. 183 creating the NIR that effectively brought government services closer to the residents of Negros Island.

However, in 2017 the NIR was abolished by President Rodrigo Duterte who deemed it too costly an undertaking, Zubiri said.

"I don't think it's going to cost us more to revive the NIR," he said.

On Monday, the Senate Committee on local government chaired by Ejercito approved several versions of proposed bills for the establishment of NIR.

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