• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The opposition to the imminent signing of the Negros Island Region (NIR) bill by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. continues to snowball as a group of Siquijor residents, calling themselves the Tingog Siquijodnon, shared the sentiments of the Diocese of Dumaguete in Negros Oriental.
Dumaguete Bishop Julito Cortes leads the call for Marcos to veto the bill creating the NIR, being proposed to include the provinces of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.
In a letter addressed to the President, Tingog Siquijodnon said that they were “deeply disturbed” by the impending creation of the new region, stressing that “Siquijor is a mere afterthought in the NIR creation”.
They pointed out that when the NIR was first conceived in 2015, only the two Negros provinces were considered in the plan and in the revival of the proposal, the Senate, through Senator Sherwin Gatchalian’s sponsorship, again only considered the two provinces.
It will be noted that in both instances, the people of the affected provinces were not consulted, they said.
“Indeed, it came as a surprise to us Siquijodnons, when, in this latest iteration, Siquijor was all of a sudden included in NIR, again, without consultation. The name of the region only suggests the two Negros provinces. For obvious reason, Siquijor was never considered to be included, except as an afterthought,” the group further said.
Siqujior and Negros Oriental are both under Region 7 while Negros Occidental belongs to Region 6.
Tingog Siquijodnon also claimed that the proposed law is manifestly void and unconstitutional, stressing also that the creation of NIR requires a plebiscite.
“As concerned citizens, our desire is for the rule of law to prevail, and for the Constitution to be respected and obeyed, not disregarded, or ignored when it is convenient,” they pointed out.
On the other hand, the Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (NOCCII) reiterated its call for the President to sign the creation of NIR into law, as they debunked claims that its creation would violate the 1987 Constitution, and requires the conduct of plebiscite.
Under the 1987 Constitution, plebiscite is required only for autonomous regions like the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Cordillera Autonomous Region, NOCCII president Edward Du said. | GB
