BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – With Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo already laid to rest, Negros Occidental governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Friday, March 17, he would resume talks about the proposed reestablishment of the Negros Island Region (NIR).
Lacson is hoping he would be able to talk with his new counterpart, Negros Oriental governor Carlo Jorge Joan Reyes, at the soonest available time, even if it is via phone call.
Before his assassination on March 4, Degamo had expressed his opposition to the reestablishment of the NIR.
The late governor cited Negros Occidental’s “political dominance”, “unequal voting” within the Regional Development Council (RDC) meetings if the NIR was ever established, and the “cultural divide” wherein people on the Occidental side of the island speak Hiligaynon while those on the Oriental side use Cebuano or Bisaya.
Although opposed, Degamo did not fully object to reestablishing the region by making a counter-proposal to create another province.
On the other hand, a business leader in Negros Occidental proposed giving the RDC chairmanship to Degamo to change the latter’s mind.
The NIR bill has already passed the final reading in the House of Representatives and has been forwarded to the Senate.
If enacted, the NIR would be an amalgamation of the provinces of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor./PN
