Representatives of several sectors in Negros Island have unanimously voted to push for the retention of the Negros Island Region amid reports that President Rodrigo Duterte is slated to sign an Executive Order abolishing the administrative region that will return the two Negros provinces to their former regional groups.
Representatives of Negros Island’s 10 political Districts, local government units led by Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo and Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Maranon Jr., the business community, the academe, NGOs, and representatives of government agencies attended the one-day forum held Tuesday in Bacolod City.
In an appeal, which will be hand carried by Interior Secretary Mike Sueno to President Duterte, they asked President Duterte to give the NIR a chance.
“We…have always nurtured the dream of being reunited, having long been separated into Regions 6 and 7, the only island in over 7,100 islands of the Philippines that belonged to two different administrative regions,” they said.
They said that since the start of the Negros Island Region, the island is now experiencing easy access to regional offices, and a more focused and integrated development planning and implementation of programs and projects.
“We believe that the continued existence of NIR will not incur additional cost to the national government, and we assure the President that we will be able to effectively function with the status quo on the budget,” the petition said.
They said that under the NIR, they aim to become a globally-competitive and diversified economy by 2040.
“We trust that NIR’s continued existence would level the playing field in terms of development management in the Visayas regions, and accelerate the transformation of Negros Island as a showcase of socio-economic progress, in turn encouraging reverse migration, and decongestion of Metro Manila.” (AP)
