NEGROS Occidental Fourth District Representative Juliet Marie Ferrer said the proposed creation of an additional province for Negros Island Region (NIR) is "unnecessary and divisive."
"The rationale for the NIR House Bill I filed (House Bill 119) is to make the regional government offices more accessible and thus, make it more convenient for the constituents of the NIR," Ferrer said in a statement.
"Although they are expressed differently by the different authors, the explanatory note of all the NIR bills has the same tenor. There was no intention to outnumber the representatives of Negros Oriental in the Regional Development Council. If this was the case, the Negros Oriental representatives would not support the bill. On the contrary, they do not just support it, they are also co-authors," she said.
Ferrer said the creation of a third province in Negros Occidental requires a long legislative process and eventually a plebiscite, which is costly.
"It is not necessary and in fact, divisive. The people of Negros Occidental have been living harmoniously despite the different dialects so there is no reason to make a division based on their dialects now," she added.
The legislative power is vested in the Congress of the Philippines. The creation of laws including the creation of the Negros Island Region is constitutionally vested in Congress. In this case, all the representatives of concerned provinces, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor, support the NIR Bill.
The collective wisdom of Congress should be respected being the representatives of the people and the legislative authority is recognized by the fundamental law of the land, Ferrer added.
"For these reasons, I cannot accept the proposal to create another province in order to make the provinces on equal footing as a hindrance or a pre-requisite to the passage of the NIR bill. Ultimately, it is Congress who has the legislative authority to pass the said bill," she added.
Ferrer is the author of HB 119 which is the mother bill of the NIR consolidated and substitute bills.