By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson over the weekend said he wants the proposed Panay-Guimaras-Negros (PGN) Bridge to materialize.

This came after the Department of Public Works and Highways announced earlier this month that the South Korean government through the Export Import Bank of Korea has extended a $56.6 million loan to the Philippine government.

Last year, the provincial government forwarded a resolution endorsing the town of Valladolid as the entry point for the 4.97-kilometer Guimaras-Negros bridge sector.

The provincial government had been actively pushing for the construction of a bridge which will connect Negros Occidental with Panay island since the administration of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Backing sugar planters over SRA importation

Aside from the PGN, Lacson, who had secured a second term in office as governor, will also adopt a policy where the importation of sugar will be allowed only when necessary.

The governor’s stand will further support the Negros-based sugar planters who have been actively protesting against the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) for allowing the importation of sugar at the height of the sugar milling season.

Lacson is also calling on presumptive president-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. to appoint a Negrense to head the SRA.

With the chaotic political atmosphere now dying down, Lacson is calling on all elected officials in the province to do their share for the good of the country and good governance.

“We should all hope that the Marcos administration does well for our country, and makes every Filipino a winner,” he added./DGB, WDJ