- GILBERT BAYORAN
Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson supports the call of business leaders for an executive order signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. creating the Negros Island Region, which includes Siquijor, ahead of the passage of a law that will lead to its creation.
In a joint statement, business leaders in Negros Occidental and Oriental expressed their strong support to the “re-establishment of a separate, stand alone, and full-pledged region, which will encompass Negros and Siquijor islands”.
The proposed NIR bill, which was already approved by the House Local Government Committee, is now up for deliberations by the Committee on Appropriations, prior to its passage on second reading by the House of Representatives.
Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Benitez also pushed for the issuance of an EO creating the NIR, ahead of the law.
Lacson said it needs another executive order “in the same manner it was done during PNoy’s time”.
In 2015, then president Benigno Aquino III issued an EO creating the NIR. However, it was dissolved by his successor, Rodrigo Duterte, two years after.
“An executive order from the present administration, I think will be sufficient enough,” Lacson said, referring to the NIR creation.
While Governor Roel Degamo expressed his opposition to the NIR creation, the three solons of Negros Oriental, the district representatives of Bacolod and Negros Occidental, including Abang Lingkod Rep. Stephen Joseph Paduano, as well as the congressman and governor of Siquijor, co-authored the NIR bill.
“It is time for Negrosanons and Siquijornons to be given their own empowered Regional Development Council, which coupled with the fair implementation of the Mandanas decision, would finally provide our regional elected leaders with sufficient autonomy to unite, plan, and execute projects to benefit our citizens,” the joint statement from the business leaders in Negros Island said.
Among the signatories were Roberto Montelibano and Frank Carbon, president and executive officer of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Edward Du, head of the Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Edgar Sy, president of the Bacolod Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Arthur Aguilar, Biopower Group of Companies president; and Eduardo Jereza, corporate secretary of the Negros Economic Development Foundation. Negros Oriental and Siquijor are both under Region 7, while Negros Occidental and Bacolod belong to Region 6./GB
