BY ERWIN AMBO DELILAN
Such is the 64-dollar-question re: proposed revival of the controversial Negros Island Region (NIR).
Why?
Because it seems there are “unseen forces” working for the “second death” of NIR.
This somehow “irked” Negros Occidental govenor Bong Lacson, necessitating him during a press conference on Wednesday, Nov. 22, to cast these two powerful lines:
* “It’s a now-or-never situation on NIR’s revival.”
* If it (NIR) will not materialize during the current administration, it will not happen at all.”
Can Bong rock the boat?
That remains to be seen.
BIRTH, DEATH OF NIR
NIR was born via Executive Order (EO) No. 183, series of 2015 during the incumbency of the late President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III.
But when former President Rodrigo Duterte was catapulted to power in 2016, he ordered the “instant murder” of the one-year-old NIR thru EO No. 38, series of 2017.
Not anyone reacted to President Duterte’s “harshest” move against NIR.
But when President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. assumed office on June 30, 2022, lots of Negrense politicos scampered to propose NIR’s revival, hoping that the sitting president will make true his campaign promise about the “island-region fantasy”.
Three Negros Occidental solons – 2nd District’s Rep. Thirdy Marañon, 3rd District’s Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Benitez and 4th District’s Rep. Juliet Marie Ferrer – immediately filed their respective bills re: NIR revival.
Their bills were consolidated into House Bill (HB) No. 7355, which was approved by the Lower House in March this year.
Then, there’s a Senate version – Senate Bill (SB) No. 1236 – and the dribbler is Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito whose mother, Guia Gomez, is a true-blooded Negrense from Silay City.
Likewise, Ejercito is the chairman of the Senate’s committee on local government.
STUDY WELL
With Ejercito manning the NIR matter in the Senate, of course, everybody in Negros have “high hopes”.
Lo and behold, when checked for an update on Tuesday, Nov. 21, the senator said, “It’s better to study it well so that we could convince President Bongbong rather than speed it up and then some data may not be presented which may not convince the president.”
The effect of Ejercito’s statement on the Negrenses – including Gov. Bong and the rest of the NIR prime movers – is captured by the famous Hiligaynon expression, “daw tinakluban sang langit”.
In the past months, the governor said a law for NIR could be the best “Christmas gift” for Negrenses from both sides of Negros Island – Oriental and Occidental.
But now, his seemingly desperate statement on NIR is: “Now or never!”
WHO YOU?
On the other hand, a political guru in Negros said Gov. Bong’s latest pronouncement on NIR has no bearing.
“It can neither move mountains nor shoot for the moon,” the political guru stressed, adding, “Gov. Bong is definitely a ‘non-entity’ for the Marcoses or in Malacañang.”
Worse, if the governor, a certified Leni Robredo fanactic during the 2022 elections, will be asked in the Palace later: Who you?
Questions:
* Where are the Benitez brothers – Bacolod City’s Mayor Albee and Negros Occ. 3rd District’s Cong. Kiko?
* Why are they silent on the latest NIR issue?
The silence is quite deafening.
SOMETHING WENT WRONG
Well, the latest update on NIR seems to be tricky.
Reading between the lines, it can be sensed that something went wrong.
Thus, everybody is now “hallucinating” as to the real causer of kinda “tragedy” against the controversial proposal.
I then remember the slain Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo.
Governor Degamo and I met in Dumaguete for a one-on-one interview on NIR sometime in January this year.
The late governor was so firm in opposing NIR. He vowed not to allow such to happen within his incumbency and beyond. He laid down some pros but lots of cons why he’s against NIR.
But what really registered to my mind was his strongest quotable quote: “Ngano man nga wala gisi, tahi-on?
Just more than a month after my interview, he was assassinated alongside eight civilians inside their home compound in Pamplona town, Negros Oriental on March 4.
His death angered many, and the rest is history.
Now, the very question is: Who are or what are these unseen forces blocking the proposed NIR revival?/PN
