By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Benitez said the counter-proposal of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo to create a third province in Negros before agreeing to reestablish the Negros Island Region (NIR) would be “unnecessary.”
According to Benitez, the Regional Development Councils (RDCs), represented by district representatives, have an equal voice in Congress.
Benitez forwarded a question to Degamo: For what purpose is needed to create another province?
The city mayor said he would prefer listening to Degamo’s fair representation, rather than agreeing to his counter-proposal for the third province.
The plan would take longer to process and it might not even happen during President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr.’s administration, he said.
Degamo’s counter-proposal also garnered the ire of Negros Occidental’s San Carlos City Mayor Renato Gustilo, nixing the idea of an additional province on the island.
“Why not take half of Negros Oriental, from Manjuyod to Vallehermoso [towns], and San Carlos City up to Escalante City in Negros Occidental,” Gustilo said.
Earlier, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said Degamo wants Negros Oriental’s Vallehermoso town, and Negros Occidental’s cities of San Carlos, Escalante, and Sagay, and the towns of Calatrava and Toboso to be included in the new province.
The said local government units are all located at the extreme northern portion of the island.
Degamo said his proposal is meant to address what he calls unequal voting within RDC meetings if the NIR is established.
Another reason behind the proposal is the “cultural barrier,” wherein most of the people in Negros Occidental speak Hiligaynon, while residents of the Oriental side use the Cebuano or Bisaya language.
Lacson said the language and cultural barriers between the two provinces are small matters and can be addressed easily.
“Ang iya gid ya punto that he has brought up is equal footing, because Negros Occidental is the dominant province, and since we are the bigger province, they [Negros Oriental] will always get out voted,” Lacson said.
However, the Negros Occidental governor said he wants to address the issue of equal footing as he doesn’t want Negros Oriental and even Siquijor to be overpowered due to his province’s dominance.
“We will help all provinces under the new region, so ang equal footing na lang ang i-address ta,” Lacson said./DGB, WDJ