Governors seek to create ‘One Visayas Bloc’, want Garcia to lead

THE creation of “One Visayas Bloc” was proposed last August 5, 2024, during the 455th founding anniversary celebration of Cebu Province, where Governor Gwendolyn Garcia was groomed to lead the organization.

The governors who were present during the event supported the proposal, namely, Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr., Southern Leyte Governor Damian Mercado, Eastern Samar Governor Ben Evardone, Siquijor Governor Jake Villa, Guimaras Governor Joaquin Carlos “JC” Nava, Aklan Governor Jose Enrique Miraflores, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose “Bong” Lacson, and Bohol Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado.

Also present was First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos.

“Gov. Gwen will be our unanimous, unopposed leader of the Visayas,” Evardone said.

But Governor Garcia made it clear that she had no intention of seeking for a higher office in the May 2025 election, despite being groomed to lead the organization.

The One Visayas Bloc aims to provide a unified platform for the 16 provinces in the Visayas that are part of Regions 6, 7, and 8 for them to work together on regional priorities, including infrastructure development, economic growth, and disaster preparedness and to make sure that their needs and concerns are duly heard and taken care of at the national level.

Garcia is currently serving her second term as governor and is expected to seek for a third and final term in next year’s election.

The governor is certain that initiatives ranging from infrastructure to disaster mitigation would be further expanded by combining all of the Visayas provinces.

“We hope that we will be able to put together this One Visayas Bloc in order to come forward as a strong, united, coming together of the 16 Provinces,” Garcia said on Wednesday, August 7.

“It will become a super entity that is concerned about uplifting people’s lives in the whole Visayas,” she added. (ANV, TPT)