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BY PRINCE GOLEZ
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MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte has abolished the Negros Island Region (NIR) that his predecessor, then President Benigno Aquino III, created.
Duterte’s Executive Order (EO) No. 38 signed on Aug. 7 rescinded Aquino’s EO No. 183 that merged the provinces of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental into one region on May 29, 2015.
“The provinces of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental shall revert to Region 6 and Region 7, respectively,” Section 1 of Duterte’s EO read.
The President abolished NIR four days after calling out Aquino for questioning the government’s antidrug campaign. He called the former President “gago” at a speech during the 113th anniversary of the Bureau of Internal Revenue on Aug. 7 and “napakagunggong” during a visit to government troops in Marawi City on Aug. 5.
Duterte also abolished regional offices for the NIR created under Memorandum Circular No. 81 (s. 2015).
All existing personnel of these regional government offices shall return to their previous units of deployment, or reassigned to other offices within their respective departments or agencies.
Duterte said a “substantial appropriation” is needed to jumpstart the full operation of the NIR but there is none at the moment.
“There is a need to ensure that priority government programs and projects are sufficiently funded,” stressed the President.
EO 38 directs the Department of Interior and Local Government to supervise the reversion of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental provinces to Regions 6 and 7, respectively.
“The establishment of regional offices of departments and agencies in the NIR requires substantial appropriation to be fully operational, thus competing with government priority programs and projects for funding,” according to Duterte.
DISAPPOINTMENTS
Sen. JV Ejercito, whose mother Gia Gomez has roots in Silay City, Negros Occidental, said “the President may not have been briefed properly” on the NIR.
Ejercito supported NIR’s creation.
“The Negros Island Region would have made the operations of national offices more convenient for both Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental,” he told Panay News.
Meanwhile, Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino said he was “disappointed.” The abolition would weaken economic growth and hamper poverty alleviation efforts in the region, he warned.
“At the very least, this issue (NIR’s abolition) warrants a public discussion and we hope the Senate can still hold a hearing on the resolutions we’ve filed last year,” said the senator, referring to his Senate Resolution No. (SRN) 212 and Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri’s SRN 202.
Malacañang announced through Budget secretary Benjamin Diokno last year yet that NIR would be abolished due to budgetary constraints.
SRN 212 underscored the need for the national government to consider and assess the broader potential and long-term impact of having an administration center in the Negros Island.
Zubiri, for his part, said he was sad but respected Duterte’s decision.
“I was there in the campaign to extend the recognition of the NIR and did my share when push came to shove,” said the senator whose father, Gov. Jose Ma. Zubiri, is a native of Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental.
He said he would work for the re-establishment of NIR.
“Also, I believe that the two provinces will definitely play a key role in the President’s vision to move our form of government towards federalism. And, in the coming budget deliberations, we can see to it that development programs for the two provinces will be funded,” added Zubiri.
Former Interior secretary Mar Roxas also expressed regret over the NIR’s abolition.
“Nanugunan gid ako nga waay madayon ang Negros Island Region,” Roxas posted on Facebook.
The Negreneses would have benefitted more if Duterte did not work towards the dissolution of the region, he added.
“With NIR’s dissolution, mga Negrense will be traveling farther and spending more for services and Negros Occidental and Oriental development will be slower,” the former senator from Capiz province said.
The NIR was aimed at further accelerating social and economic development of the cities and municipalities comprising the provinces of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental and improving delivery of public services in the two provinces./PN
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