Lawmaker seeks to resurrect junked Negros Island region

NEGROS OCCIDENTAL CAPITOL A picturesque scenery of lush greenery right outside the Negros Occidental capitol building in Bacolod City. The province will play a key role if the bid to revive the Negros Island region materializes. —PHOTO COURTESY OF RONNIE BALDONADO

BACOLOD CITY—A Negros Occidental congressman has filed a bill to restore the Negros Island region (NIR), close to five years since it was abolished.

Rep. Alfredo Marañon III of Negros Occidental’s second district formally asked the House of Representatives to bring back the NIR through House Bill No. 330 that he filed on July 1.

Marañon was optimistic that HB 330 would get the nod of the House of Representatives since all 10 Negros Island representatives and others from the Visayas were supporting the revival of the one Negros region.

Rep. Francisco Benitez of Negros Occidental’s third district said he would also file a similar bill which would not only include the two Negros provinces—Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental—but also their adjoining province of Siquijor as part of the new region.

According to Benitez, all bills seeking to recreate the NIR would be consolidated at the committee level for deliberation.

Marcos EO will do

Members of the Visayan bloc in the House of Representatives earlier expressed support for plans to bring back the NIR.

Negros Occidental is currently under Western Visayas, which also include the provinces of Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan, Antigue and Guimaras, and the independent city of Iloilo. Negros Oriental and Siquijor are under Central Visayas, along with the provinces of Cebu and Bohol, and the independent cities of Cebu and Mandaue.

Mayor Alfredo Benitez, of Negros Occidental’s capital Bacolod City, said President Marcos might issue an executive order reestablishing the NIR ahead of the passage of the bill creating it.

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri earlier said he would file a counterpart bill in the Senate.

Negros is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines with a total land area of 13,309 square kilometers. As of the 2020 census, Negros has a total population of 4,656,945 people.

The whole island was governed as an administrative region officially named the NIR from May 29, 2015, to Aug. 9, 2017.

It was created by virtue of Executive Order No. 183 issued by the late President Benigno Aquino III “to further accelerate the social and economic development of the cities and municipalities comprising the provinces of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental, and improve the delivery of public services in the aforementioned provinces.”

On Aug. 9, 2017, former President Rodrigo Duterte signed EO 38 dissolving the NIR for “competing with the government priority programs and projects for funding,” as the substantial appropriation is needed for it to be fully operational.