The Province of Negros Oriental turned 130 years old on Wednesday, Jan. 1st, 2020.
Negros, the fourth largest island in the Philippines, used to be one province in the 1800s until the Spanish rulers decided to divide the island into two provinces.
Published historical accounts state that some Recollect priests petitioned for the separation of the two provinces because of the distance of the Oriental side to the capital Bacolod City, and because of the constant raids by Moros who kidnapped local residents for slaves.
On Jan. 1, 1890, then Governor Gen. Valeriano Weyler issued a royal decree dividing Negros Island into two provinces. Dumaguete City was named the capital of Negros Oriental.
In 1901, the Negros Oriental province was reorganized by the United States, and a civil government was established with Demetrio Larena as governor.
The American government made Siquijor a “sub-province” of Negros Oriental.
Negros Oriental became a province under the American civil government on March 10, 1917.
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In 2006, then Gov, Emilio Macias II moved the Buglasan Festival from October to December, culminating in the commemoration of the separation of Negros Oriental and Occidental on Jan. 1.
However, preparations for the Christmas and New Year activities distracted most of the participants from joining the Buglasan Festival, eventually scrapping the idea of celebrating the Buglasan in December.
Citing the needs of the changing times requiring joint planning for the development of Negros Island, and also due to the felt discrimination by both provinces in their respective regional political groupings, political and business leaders of both provinces attempted to unite the governance of Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental through the short-lived Negros Island Region in 2015.
President Duterte dissolved the Negros Island Region after he won the Presidency in 2016, and returned the two provinces to their former political groupings.
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