BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Mayors in Negros Occidental are supportive of the new bill in the House of Representatives seeking to reestablish the Negros Island Region (NIR) and make it even bigger than it previously was.
Victorias City’ Mayor Miguel “Javi” Benitez, president of the Association of Chief Executives (ACE) – Negros Occidental, led his group come up with a resolution supporting the new and expanded NIR.
Negros Occidental governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said the ACE resolution would boost efforts to include the island province of Siquijor in the NIR.
Nine lawmakers from Negros jointly filed House Bill 1446 seeking the creation of NIR or Region 6B to be composed of the provinces of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.
They were Negros Occidental 3rd District congressman Francisco “Kiko” Benitez, 1st District’s Cong. Gerardo Valmayor Jr., 5th District’s Cong. Emilio Dino Yulo III, 6th District’s Cong. Mercedes Alvarez; and Bacolod City lone district’s Cong. Greg Gasataya.
Also supportive are Negros Oriental 1st District’s Cong. Jocelyn Sy-Limkaichong, 2nd District’s Cong. Manuel Sagarbarria, 3rd District’s Cong. Arnolfo Teves; and Abang Lingkod party-list’s Cong. Joseph Stephen Paduano.
Previously, Negros Occidental 2nd District’s Cong. Alfredo “Thirdy” Marañon III filed a separate bill seeking the establishment of the NIR, and although he did not include the province of Siquijor, he said welcomes’s Siquijor’s inclusion.
The counterpart bill of the NIR in the Senate, meanwhile, was filed by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri.
Under the proposal, all regional government offices will be located in Bacolod City, while government offices which offer social services will be located in Dumaguete City.
Siquijor had been seeking to join the NIR since the region was established via an executive order issued by then President Benigno Simeon Aquino III in 2015.
In 2017, however, then President Rodrigo Duterte dissolved NIR, citing financial constraints./PN