Marcos signs Negros Island Region Act

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. poses for a photo with legislators from the Senate and House of Representatives and other government officials after signing the Negros Island Region Act in the Malacañan Palace on Thursday, June 13, 2024. Photo from MPC Pool

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the Negros Island Region (NIR) Act in Malacañang on Thursday, putting Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor under one region.

“This union is long overdue and makes very practical sense, especially in the Negros Island, where people are located on one island but are governed under separate administrative regions,” the President said in his speech.

“So, for decades now, Negrenses have endured the rigors of sea travel, unnecessary expenses, bureaucratic red tape, inefficiency that this arrangement has brought, especially when there is a need to urgently access government services from regional centers on other islands,” he added.

Marcos also cited the uneven development of the Negros provinces despite sharing the same resources and industries.

“We envision as well the NIR as one of the centers of development in the Visayas, further accelerating socio-economic development for the millions of Negrenses and providing strategic convergence regarding resources, investments, and economic planning,” he said.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) previously noted the difficulties that came with the prior regional divisions of the provinces due to geographical differences.

Before this law, Negros Occidental was under Western Visayas while Negros Oriental and Siquijor were part of Central Visayas.

READ: House adopts Senate Negros Island bill with reg’l office assignments

The DILG said consolidating the provinces into one administrative region allows coordinated efforts, services, and resources for Negrenses.

The measure got the final nod of the Senate in March. The House of Representatives adopted the Senate’s version in the same month.