BACOLOD City – Negros Oriental’s Gov. Manuel “Chaco” Sagarbarria said the recent passage of the Negros Island Region (NIR) bill is a “great advantage” for his province and Negros Occidental.
At the sidelines of the Regional Development Council (RDC) – Central Visayas meeting held in Cebu City on Thursday, March 14, Sagarbarria said it would be better if the offices of national government agencies are located in Negros.
He added that the NIR’s reestablishment will not affect Negros Oriental’s relationship with Central Visayas.
The Senate passed the NIR Bill on the third and final reading, creating a region consisting of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.
The NIR was initially established in 2015 through Executive Order No. 183 by former President Benigno Aquino III, but it was abolished by former President Rodrigo Duterte in 2017 through Executive Order No. 38.
Sagarbarria’s predecessor, the late Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo, opposed the NIR bill citing “cultural barrier” as Negros Oriental uses the Cebuano or Bisaya language, while Negros Occidental uses the Hiligaynon language.
Degamo also voiced the “unequal voting” within the RDC meetings if the NIR were ever established.
However, Degamo was not fully against the NIR’s reestablishment as he proposed the creation of a third province in Negros island before agreeing to the NIR, which raised eye brows and even gathered ire from some Negrense politicians and groups who have stated that his proposal will take too long to materialize.
Degamo was assassinated on March 4, 2023 in his home in Pamplona, Negros Oriental. He was succeeded by Carlo Jorge Joan Reyes, who also passed away a few months later of a natural cause and was replaced by Sagarbarria. (Watchmen Daily Journal)/PN
