By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Benitez said he respects Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo’s comment that he opposed the revival of the Negros Island Region (NIR) due to “cultural reasons.”

Benitez said if Degamo is completely against re-establishing the NIR, then another option is to make a sub-region of Western Visayas or Region 6-B, which will include Negros Occidental and Bacolod City.

The mayor said he had already sent his position paper to the House of Representatives, and also presented it to Interior Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos, Jr.

Included in the position paper are the advantages, disadvantages and his recommendations regarding NIR.

Recently, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said Degamo’s statement “is not good news,” and he wants to reach out to his counterpart and seek clarification.

During the 4th Regional Development Council in Central Visayas full council meeting earlier this week, Degamo said he has no problem with his province continuing to be part of the Central Visayas region.

The governor cited cultural differences between the two provinces on Negros Island.

“[Reviving NIR] should not be done hastily. There are a lot of issues. For example, [there are] cultural differences between Ilonggos and Bisaya,” Degamo pointed out.

The people of the Oriental side of Negros would prefer to stick with the Cebuano-speaking people of Cebu, Bohol and Siquijor, he said.

However, he did not outright reject the idea of having a unified NIR.

All lawmakers on Negros Island and Siquijor are pushing for NIR’s re-establishment, as the Senate also approved five bills related to NIR.

The NIR was dissolved two years after it was established in 2015 by former President Rodrigo Duterte, who deemed the region too costly to maintain./DGB, WDJ