BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The meeting between Negros Occidental governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo will push through this month, although the exact date has yet to be arranged.
The scheduled meeting between both provincial government officials is in connection with the proposed reestablishment of the Negros Island Region (NIR).
Lacson said he initially talked with Degamo on the phone during the holiday break, although as of yesterday morning he was still unable to reach his counterpart in Negros Oriental.
It can be recalled that in December 2022, Degamo voiced a somewhat dissenting comment regarding NIR’s revival during a Regional Development Council meeting in Cebu City.
Degamo cited “cultural differences” behind the opposition, a comment regarded by business groups in Negros as “shallow”.
Lawmakers from both provinces are all in favor of reestablishing the region, which will become Region VI-B once approved into law and will be composed of the provinces of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor Island.
The NIR was first established through an executive order issued by then President Benigno Aquino III in 2015. But it was dissolved by his successor, then President Rodrigo Duterte, in 2017 due to the high cost of maintaining the region./PN
