• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
In anticipation of the signing of the creation of the Negros Island Region (NIR) into law, the provincial government of Negros Occidental is already thinking ahead, as it offers five hectares of its property in Talisay City, Negros Occidental, to be the site of national government offices that will be assigned in the province, under the new region.
Several years ago, the provincial government of Negros Occidental purchased a 25 hectare property in Brgy. Matab-ang, Talisay City.
“We will consider apportioning part of that land in Talisay City, as a regional center, maybe five hectares,” Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said, stressing that the approval of NIR by the Senate is a “promise fulfilled.”
Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez had earlier said that the Bacolod City government is already preparing for the transition to the new region, even before the passage of the NIR bill.
Lacson, however, said he is expecting challenges. “It’s a good development. But there is a lot of work to be done,” he admitted.
The NIR will be composed of the provinces of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and island province of Siquijor.
Former president Benigno Aquino III initially established the NIR in 2015, through Executive Order No. 183. However, the new region was abolished shortly after, when Rodrigo Roa Duterte succeeded him in 2016.
Negros Occidental Third District Rep. Jose Francisco Benitez and his brother, Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, who chairs the Regional Development Council of Western Visayas, are optimistic that NIR will be signed into law by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. soon.
“We just hope that the President signs it into law, even before his SONA (State Of the Nation Address,” Lacson said.*
