DEPARTMENT of Agrarian Reform (DAR)-Negros Island Region Director Stephen Leonidas said he is not yet ready to give up on region.
Leonidas said Thursday, Aug. 17, he is not questioning the decision of the President to dissolve the two-year-old region, however, he is “still hopeful.”
“What we’re asking for is consideration, for continuity on what we have started,” he said.
With the NIR abolition, Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental will be reverted to Western Visayas and Central Visayas, respectively.
Leonidas said he submitted his proposal to the DAR central office this week.
He is proposing either of the three –- to create Region 6A to cover Negros, to have two sub-operational offices under Region 6, and to convert NIR office into a satellite office.
Under his proposal, Leonidas said there’s “effective and efficient coordination” and “sustainability of established working environment and networks” in Negros Island.
He added that there’s “more efficient and effective management, supervision and monitoring due to the geographic advantage” under NIR.
With the dissolution of NIR, Leonidas said there’s also an “unnecessary displacement” of third level officials, which will affect the delivery of accomplishment and momentum.
He explained it’s only an “operational strategy” given that DAR in Negros has the biggest share of landholdings under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.
It also has the biggest number of support services like the number of agrarian reform beneficiaries and sugar block farms, he added.
Leonidas also said the DAR regional office in Bacolod City is more accessible to their clients, compared to Iloilo City for Region 6 or Cebu City for Region 7.
“The strategy and system are already in place. Since everything is already in place, if it (NIR) will be dissolved, there’s a tendency that we will start from zero. We don’t know who will head Regions 6 and 7,” he said.
While the budget is being sourced from its previous regions, the DAR-Negros Island Region office has separate budget coming from the central office, Leonidas said.
“In order for the top management to see the real picture, we have to let them know by submitting our proposal,” he said, adding that is hoping DAR Secretary Rafael Mariano will approve his proposal.