"Let us put our trust in the president to make his decision based on all available data he has in his hands about the Negros Island Region,” Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said Thursday, April 11.
Lacson also reassured that Negros Oriental will not be at disadvantaged when NIR is established.
"Like I told the late Governor Roel Degamo, Negros Occidental won't put Oriental at a disadvantage. Having said that, let us put our trust in the president to make his decision based on all available data he has in his hands,” he said.
Lacson made the reaction following the opposition of the Diocese of Dumaguete to the creation of NIR.
The Diocese called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to veto Senate Bill 2507, creating the Negros Island Region (NIR) due to a lack of fair, just, and truthful consultation.
The diocese, headed by Bishop Julito Cortes, released Wednesday, April 10, a letter addressed to the President sent during Holy Week.
It cited several reasons for their opposition to the creation of the one-island Negros region, which will comprise Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, and Siquijor.
The Diocese of Dumaguete covers the towns and cities from Basay in the south to Jimalalud in the north and the entire island province of Siquijor.
In a letter dated March 25 and signed by the bishop and other church officials, the diocese appealed to the President to veto the bill for the NIR creation, citing the lack of information dissemination and the absence of public consultation with diverse sectors and stakeholders.
Lacson when asked if he is concerned that the NIR law will be derailed because of the opposition of the diocese, Lacson said, "The president will make a decision."
Earlier, Lacson said he is wondering why only now that the Diocese came out with the opposition and why not when it was deliberated in both houses of Congress.
Other reasons cited for the diocese's objection to the creation of the NIR are the "disproportionate impact" on less privileged sectors; the threat to exacerbate existing inequalities; and the unequal distribution of resource allocation and representation, noting that Negros Oriental has fewer congressional districts compared to its western neighbor.
Marcos committed to signing the NIR bill creating one administrative region during his visit to Bacolod City on Monday, April 8.
"It has been a problem for so long already. Until we can consolidate and put it all together properly it's very hard to bring services to the people," the President said.
Without such legislation, it would be difficult to bring government services to the people, Marcos added.
Meanwhile, San Carlos City Mayor Renato Gustilo said the Dumaguete bishop and his diocese should leave NIR to politicians.
"NIR is advantageous to Negrenses. It will give us easy access to regional offices unlike in the present setup that we need to go to Iloilo for our transactions at the regional offices, same with Negros Oriental, that they will still have to go to Cebu,” Gustilo said.
"The diocese should not intervene and they should leave the works to be done by us, the government officials," Gustilo said.*