By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo “Albee” Benitez said yesterday that there is no opposition over the inclusion of Siqujor island to the proposed new Negros Island Region (NIR).
Benitez was among several mayors in Negros Occidental who were invited to attend last Friday’s meeting at the Malacañang palace by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr.
Marcos was not able to physically attend the meeting after testing positive for COVID-19, although he showed up virtually via Zoom.
According to Benitez, the matter was discussed by the attending mayors in the presence of Negros Oriental Governor Pride Henry Teves.
In a separate interview with Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr., who also attended the event, he said that during the transition period of the NIR, several employees from different regional offices in Western and Central Visayas may be temporarily transferred in order to save budget.
The two provinces will also temporarily shoulder the expenses of the respective regional offices.
Nine lawmakers from Negros have already filed House Bill 1446 seeking for the creation of Region 6B which will be composed of the provinces of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.
The lawmakers are composed of Negros Occidental 3rd district Congressman Francisco “Kiko” Benitez; Negros Occidental 1st district Congressman Gerardo Valmayor, Jr.; Negros Occidental 5th district Congressman Emilio Dino Yulo III; Negros Occidental 6th District Congresswoman Mercedes Alvarez; and Bacolod City lone district Congressman Greg Gasataya.
Also included among the list of lawmakers are Negros Oriental 1st District Congresswoman Jocelyn Sy-Limkaichong, Negros Oriental 2nd District Congresswoman Manuel Sagarbarria, Negros Oriental 3rd District Congressman Arnolfo Teves, and Abang Lingkod party-list Congressman Joseph Stephen Paduano.
Earlier, 2nd District Congressman Alfredo “Thirdy” Marañon III also filed a separate bill seeking for the establishment of the NIR, although he did not include the province of Siquijor.
However, Marañon had already stated that despite not including Siquijor, he is not against the island province joining the new NIR.
The counterpart bill of the NIR in the senate, meanwhile, was filed by incoming Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri.
Under the proposal, all regional government offices will be located in Bacolod City, while government offices which offer social services will be located in Dumaguete City.
Siquijor, meanwhile, had been seeking to join the NIR ever since it was first established via an executive order issued by the late former President Benigno Aquino III in 2015.
The previous NIR was dissolved in October of 2017 by President Rodrigo Duterte, pointing out that establishing a region needed a law, not an executive order. He also said there was no money to fund the new region./DGB, WDJ