One-Negros proponents decry poverty

DUMAGUETE CITY—If you are happy to be poor, then don’t support the creation of the Negros Island Region.

Edward Du, president of the Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry, raised this point in contending that the province’s chances of reducing poverty under a Negros Island Region with Negros Occidental were extremely high. He spoke at a consultative forum on the proposed unified Negros at Negros Oriental Convention Center here.

Since Negros Oriental became a part of Central Visayas, its poverty incidence for the past 10 to 15 years has relatively remained unchanged, Du said. In fact, it was consistently the poorest province in the region and among the 20 poorest provinces nationwide, he said, citing statistics of the National Statistical Coordination Board from 2003 to 2012.

Poverty incidence during the period ranged from 41 percent to 52 percent, he said.

Negros Oriental is currently part of Central Visayas, while Negros Occidental belongs to Western Visayas.

The latest 2012 poverty statistics obtained from the website of the Philippine Statistics Authority in the Visayas show that only Negros Oriental and Samar belong to the 20 poorest provinces.

Resource allocation

What is alarming to the business sector is that poverty incidence in Negros Oriental has worsened from 2009 to 2012, compared with its immediate neighbors—Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor and Negros Occidental, Du said, citing findings of the National Statistics Coordination Board (NSCB).

He attributed the trend to the continued inequitable allocation of scarce national government resources at the Regional Development Council in Central Visayas.

Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo is not budging from his stand against the creation of a Negros Island Region, even as other provincial officials have viewed the proposal as a boost to the local economy and a way out of poverty.

A feasibility study of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) is needed to determine whether unifying Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental benefit the latter, Degamo said. As of now, there are no data on the matter, he said.

The consultative forum drew some 500 officials from the two provinces, and representatives from the business, education, transport and civil society sectors. Outside the venue, about 50 parked tricycles bore tarpaulins with uniformly printed messages that read “No to Negros Island” and “Yes to Connect Negros-Cebu.”

Cerilo Collado, provincial chair of Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston), said his group would rather support a move to connect Negros Island to Cebu.

The proposed one-Negros region will not benefit Negros Oriental and will only mean added cost to the government, Collado said. The government should first address its call for the abolition of the oil deregulation law and other antipublic transport provisions, he added.

Degamo denied suspicions that he was behind the drivers’ protest. “They are not my people, they have their own positions on the matter,” he said.

Happy with set-up

The governor said he was happy with Negros Oriental being part of Central Visayas, describing the region as “soaring high.”

“We are No. 2 in tourism in Central Visayas and ranked eighth in the country,” he said.

Reacting to Degamo’s statements, Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. said it was hard to convince people who have already made up their minds. “As St. Paul said, for those who believe, no explanation is necessary, and for those who do not believe, no explanation is possible,” he said.

Marañon said more dialogues would be conducted in Negros Oriental to make its residents aware of the proposed region and its benefits. He cited a study conducted by Silliman University showing that 57 percent of the people in Negros Oriental were not aware of the proposal.

Negros Oriental Representatives Pryde Henry (third district) and George Arnaiz (second district), Negros Occidental Representatives Leo Rafael Cueva (second district) and Jeffrey Ferrer (fourth district), and former Rep. Jocelyn Limkaichong have declared their support for the Negros Island Region.

The president of the Negros Occidental League of Municipalities, Mayor David Albert Lacson of EB Magalona town, and the president of the Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Du, are also supporting the move.

A resolution asking President Aquino to issue an executive order creating the Negros Island Region may be submitted to him by the end of the year, according to former Negros Occidental Gov. Rafael Coscolluela.

The new region is consistent with principles of sound development planning and investment programming for infrastructure, tourism development, trade and commerce, environmental protection, and disaster management, he said.

9th poorest

Latest NSCB figures showed that Negros Oriental ranked ninth poorest province in the country out of 81 provinces, with almost half of its households (45.3 percent) unable to meet their basic daily needs, or living below the poverty line, he said.

“While all the other four neighboring provinces have been able to successfully reduce their poverty incidence these past 20 years by at least 2 to 9 notches, Negros Oriental’s poverty incidence has worsened by 6 notches, from 15th poorest province in 2009 to 9th poorest in 2012,” he said.

Next year, the business community predicts a far worse scenario for Negros Oriental, with the full implementation of the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) economic integration, Du said.

The scheme is expected to severely hit marginal farmers in the sugar, coconut, aquaculture and livestock industries, as imported refined sugar, palm oil, coconut milk, marine and frozen meat/poultry products from Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Malaysia, freely enter the Philippine market at almost zero tariff, he said.