Sibulan Mayor Emmanuel Diputado has thrown caution into the efforts to rush the creation of a One-Island Region out of the two Negros provinces.
Speaking to reporters last week, Diputado said the endorsement given by Amlan Mayor Bentham dela Cruz, who is also the president of the Municipal Mayor’s League, during the One-Island Region Summit held in Kabankalan City two weeks ago, does not necessarily mean that the merger will be approved.
Diputado, who lamented that he was not even invited to the Summit, said it is not just for the leaders to immediately adopt what the other side of the Island wants.
This idea, he said, would have to go through a lot of information dissemination to reach every Negrense.
Diputado told SkyCable news that he cannot just approve the idea without even scrutinizing its contents, determine if the plan is fair to everybody, and how it will work in terms of jurisdiction, leadership, and transition period, among others.
“It will cause a domino effect on local administration, the annual investment plan, and budget, and all these should conform with the direction of the two island provinces.
“It will shake the foundation, as far as administration of local government units is concerned, and affect not much the language barrier because we can even understand sign languages,” he added.
