The Diocese of Dumaguete has sent a second letter to President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to ask that he veto the Senate Bill creating the Negros Island-Siquijor Region.
In a letter dated April 29, 2024, the Diocese said they were writing a second time, citing the opinion of lawyers, this time around.
The second letter of the Diocese, which is printed in full in this newspaper, contained mostly arguments made by lawyer Marcelino C. Maxino, former law dean and president of Foundation University, an Outstanding Negrense awardee, and the former president of the IBP Negros Oriental Chapter. Maxino was also a member of the Bar Consultant of the State Bar of California, U.S.A.
The Diocese said the creation of the NIR violates the Ordinance to the 1987 Constitution. because of the lack of a plebiscite.
The Diocese also said the creation of the NIR violates Section 10, Article X, of the 1987 Constitution, which provides that the creation of a province, city, municipality or barangay must be done in accordance with the criteria established in the local government code and subject to approval by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite in the political units directly affected.
The third reason cited by the Diocese to support their argument is that the NIR violates Section 2, Article X, of the 1987 Constitution, which guarantees local autonomy to the territorial and political subdivisions and local government units.
It also said that assuming that the NIR bill is constitutional, the NIR idea should be rejected for being ill-conceived. It is ill-conceived for lack of feasibility study, for being unnecessary.
It said there were no studies made to support the NIR formation. It is also unnecessary because the solution to what NIR seeks to achieve is simply honest and competent service, seriousness of purpose and dedication to duty.
The Diocese also cited the NECEBOLEY Mega project as one of the reasons for junking the NIR. The NECEBOLEY, an acronym for Negros, Cebu, Bohol and Leyte, calls for the building of a bridge network connecting these four provinces. Pre-construction work on this $15 Billion project is expected to begin by the second quarter of 2024. “This mega project is being undertaken without NIR participation, proving that Negros Oriental does not need NIR,” their letter said.
The Diocese also insisted on its right to be heard regardless of the critics’ stance that their arguments violate the doctrine of separation of the Church and the State. It said it is often used by critics who want to silence them.
Not to be outdone, the NOCCI also sent a second letter to President Marcos debunking the arguments of the Diocese in their second letter.
The full text of the second NOCCI letter to President Marcos is printed in this newspaper.
In their letter, NOCCI President Edward Du said the creation of the NIR through Senate Bill 2507 is constitutional and does not require the calling of a plebiscite. It said unlike the creation of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao the creation of an administrative region like the CARAGA by virtue of RA 7901 did not need a plebiscite.
It also said the creation of the NIR is not similar to creating a new province or city that requires a plebiscite. The NOCCI said that with the creation of the NIR, the three provinces that will belong in the new Island Region will remain as is.
On the claim that the NIR is unnecessary and wasteful, the NOCCI said that on the contrary, when the NIR was first implemented in 2015-2017, the people of Negros Oriental had better access to their regional centers and did not have to travel 5 to 6 hours to Cebu to transact business in their regional offices, without spending billions of pesos.
On the NECEBOLEY project, the NOCCI said that this bridge will become unnecessary when the NIR will become a law because there would be no need to connect the four provinces.
The NOCCI again asked the questions that it said have not yet been answered until today. Among the questions are: 1) why is the Diocese only objecting to the NIR only now and not when President Aquino created the region in 2015. 2) Why stop a good law? 3) What is the disadvantage of having 16 new regional offices in Negros Oriental? Why do we have to spend thousands of pesos for travel to Cebu just to go to a regional office and endure the traffic? 4) Why did the Church not express its opposition to the Negros Congressmen when they were crafting the NIR Bill? 5) Why is the Church objecting to the inclusion of Siquijor in the NIR when there is no public outcry in that province for their inclusion to the NIR?
