By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Following months of positive development, the moves to revive Negros Island Region (NIR) may have hit a major obstacle after Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo voiced his disapproval during the 4th Regional Development Council in Central Visayas full council meeting in Cebu City on Tuesday, December 6.

During the meeting, Degamo said he has no problem with Negros Oriental still being part of Central Visayas.

He also cited cultural differences between the two provinces on Negros Island, wherein Negros Oriental would prefer sticking to the Cebuano-speaking people of Cebu, Bohol and Siquijor.

Despite this, he is still open to the re-establishment of the NIR, but he pointed out it should be done properly as he sees that there are a lot of pros and cons.

“It should not be done in a hastily manner because there are a lot of issues that we are going to take here. For example, [there are] cultural differences between Ilonggos and Bisaya,” Degamo said.

Meanwhile, in response to Degamo’s statement, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said yesterday that his counterpart’s statement “is not good news.”

Lacson said they are planning to reach out to Degamo and, if possible, convince him to reconsider his stand.

During the NIR establishment in 2015, Degamo was noted to be one of the leaders of the region’s technical working group with former Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon, Jr.

All the lawmakers on Negros Island and Siquijor are pushing for NIR’s re-establishment.

On the other hand, the Senate also approved five bills related to NIR.

The NIR was established in 2015 through an executive order issued by then-President Benigno Aquino III.

However, two years later, the NIR was dissolved by then-President Rodrigo Duterte, who deemed the region too costly to maintain./DGB, WDJ