(First of two parts)
As 2024 comes to a close, it’s time to reflect on a year that has been marked by significant events, challenges and triumphs in Negros Island.
From political shifts to natural and environmental crises, the year has been a defining period in many ways.
We take a closer look at the significant stories that shaped Negros and reflect on the year that was.
El Niño
It was a challenging year for the agricultural sector in Negros Occidental, as the drought and dry spell brought by the El Niño phenomenon caused damage reaching P318 million to crops, and affecting more than 8,500 farmers in 21 local government units.
The weather phenomenon-induced drought severely affected the cities of Escalante, Himamaylan, Bago, and San Carlos, as well as the municipalities of Cauayan, San Enrique, Candoni, Valladolid, Ilog, Calatrava, and Hinoba-an.
Kabankalan, San Enrique, San Carlos, and Valladolid were placed under a state of calamity due to agricultural damage triggered by El Niño.
In Negros Oriental, damage to crops due to El Niño was pegged at more than P2.4 billion.
Over 3,000 farmers and fishermen were affected.
The municipalities of Sta. Catalina and Mabinay, as well as Bayawan City, were placed under a state of calamity due to El Niño.
In Bacolod, the water shortage due to a dry spell from March to early May prompted the city government to deploy water trucks for water distribution and rationing in affected areas.
Meanwhile, three barangays in Negros Occidental’s Hinoba-an town have been affected by water shortages due to the ongoing drought, dropping to below-normal levels.
The three villages are also experiencing water shortages for irrigation.
In March, a total of 20,223 individuals, comprising 5,283 households, in Himamaylan City were affected by water shortages.
Kanlaon eruption
Kanlaon Volcano erupted twice this year, disrupting the lives of many Negrenses living within the volcano’s six-kilometer permanent danger zone.
On June 3, Kanlaon spewed a 5,000-meter plume for six minutes, which prompted the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) to raise Alert Level 2 over the volcano.
Phivolcs said the “eruption produced a voluminous and incandescent plume that rapidly rose above the vent and probable short pyroclastic density currents approximately two to three kilometers down the southern and southeastern slopes.”
The eruption was preceded by a relatively strong volcano-tectonic earthquake.
Ashfall was observed in six local government units (LGUs), and sulfurous odors in eight localities, namely the cities of La Carlota and Bago, the municipalities of La Castellana, Pontevedra, Valladolid, San Enrique, Hinigaran, and Binalbagan, and some barangays in capital Bacolod City.
A muddy sheetwash or a mudflow from the volcano was reported in La Castellana’s Barangay Biak na Bato.
Entering the four-kilometer permanent danger zone was strictly prohibited due to increased chances of sudden and hazardous phreatic eruption.
Meanwhile, 1,526 individuals or 368 families in Negros Occidental evacuated following Kanlaon’s eruption.
The restive Kanlaon has affected 84 barangays in 10 LGUs, such as Bago, La Castellana and La Carlota.
Negros Oriental’s Canlaon City was placed under a state of calamity after 23,622 residents in five barangays were affected by the volcanic eruption.
The figure is about 40 percent of the city’s total population of 58,822.
La Castellana town was also under a state of calamity due to the eruption, as more than 200 families or over 800 individuals in six barangays were affected.
The lahar from the eruption contaminated water sources, with nearby communities experiencing a lack of drinking water.
Kanlaon’s eruption has also resulted in agricultural losses worth P104.8 million in both Negros provinces, with ashfalls and lahar flows affecting 3,947 metric tons of crops.
An increase in ground deformation was observed at the volcano’s edifice, as it warns of higher chances of an eruption taking place.
In September, Phivolcs warned of another massive eruption at Kanlaon, as it continues to exhibit signs of increased unrest.
The high sulfur dioxide (SO2) levels suggest ongoing volcanic degassing, hinting at magma movement within the volcano.
SO2 fumes have affected 22 barangays in La Castellana, Moises Padilla, Bago, La Carlota, and Pontevedra.
It also disrupted face-to-face classes in 14 public schools in Bago City.
Kanlaon continues to show signs of “swelling,” indicating the presence of magma beneath the surface.
On December 9, Kanlaon Volcano had another eruption episode, prompting the Phivolcs to hoist Alert Level 3 over the volcano, indicating magmatic unrest.
Kanlaon emitted plumes reaching approximately 3,000 meters and drifting west-southwest.
The explosive eruption lasted for three minutes and 55 seconds, and there was no precursory seismicity before the eruption.
The eruption prompted LGUs to evacuate around 87,000 residents from Kanlaon’s six-kilometer permanent danger zone.
The Phivolcs said they will likely hoist Kanlaon’s status to Alert Level 4 following its explosive eruption.
Among the signs that they are looking for to declare Kanlaon under Alert Level 4 include a slow rise of magma and swelling of the volcano.
On December 13, Negros Occidental was officially under a state of calamity following Kanlaon’s magmatic eruption.
Thousands of residents spent Christmas Day inside evacuation centers in five local government units in Negros Island Region as Kanlaon Volcano continues to pose significant risks.
NIR Act
President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. signed Republic Act (RA) 12000, or the Negros Island Region (NIR) Act, into law on June 13, unifying Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor into a new administrative region.
The NIR, now the 18th region in the country, aims to promote economic development and improve government services in the three Visayan provinces.
This will pave the way for a more unified and effective approach to addressing the region’s development challenges, including uneven growth and disparity of funding; and improve the delivery of basic government services on Negros Island through the establishment of regional government offices.
Negros Occidental has been separated from Western Visayas, while Negros Oriental and Siquijor ceased being a part of Central Visayas.
Before and after the official signing, the NIR Act encountered obstacles that challenged the constitutionality of the law.
The Diocese of Dumaguete said the NIR bill is unconstitutional, appealing to Marcos Jr. not to sign the bill.
It should be rejected for being ill-conceived due to lack of feasibility study, and “lack of information dissemination and the absence of public consultation.”
The diocese also cited reasons for opposing the establishment of NIR, such as “disproportionate impact” on less privileged sectors, unequal distribution of resource allocation and representation, and the threat to exacerbate existing inequalities.
Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson assured that Negros Oriental will not be put at a disadvantage if the NIR is established.
In September, six residents from Negros Oriental and Siquijor challenged the constitutionality of the NIR Law through a petition.
They claimed that RA 12000 “never submitted to the people through a plebiscite as constitutionally required, neither was there any public consultation.”
The petitioners asked the Supreme Court to issue a temporary restraining order or a writ of preliminary injunction on the NIR implementation.
The establishment and revival of NIR was “illegal” due to its failure to follow standard legislative processes, they added.
The Supreme Court has directed the Office of the Solicitor General to make a comment on the petition questioning the enactment of the NIR.
A few days after the signing of the NIR Act, Siquijor’s San Juan Mayor Wilfredo Capundag, Jr. proposed renaming the newly-created region as Negros Island-Siquijor Administrative Region (NISAR).
Capundag said the change of name to NISAR is a fitting recognition of Siquijor’s integration into NIR.
Meanwhile, Lacson has set aside the proposed renaming, citing more pressing priorities.
Lacson said the proposal to change the name of the newly-established region could be considered in the future.
Two months after the signing, Lacson hopes that representatives in NIR will convince the national government to include funding for the newly-established region in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
This, after NIR’s proposed P3.6 billion budget allocation for three years did not meet the deadline.
The proposed GAA was forwarded to the Congress in August for deliberations.
Negros Oriental Governor Chaco Sagarbarria said that the budget non-inclusion is a “birth pain” of the newly-established NIR, stating that it’s not going to be instant.
He said he anticipates more economic developments in NIR during the transition period, which may take about three years.
In October, Lacson expressed optimism on the full operation of NIR as he signed the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Act.
The IRR includes the rules on establishing NIR government offices and mechanisms, duties and responsibilities of the technical working group, funding, transitory provisions, and final provisions.
Sagarbarria signed the IRR in Dumaguete City on October 1.
Meanwhile, Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said he did not sign the IRR because the provision did not include the establishment of satellite offices in the provinces.
The NIR was initially established in 2015 through Executive Order (EO) 183 by former President Benigno Aquino III, but it was abolished by former President Rodrigo Duterte in 2017 through EO 38.
Stable peace
The Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division recommended the declaration of Stable Internal Peace and Security (SIPS) status in Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental to President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.
Brigadier General Orlando Edralin, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, said the two Negros provinces have already met the necessary criteria for the SIPS status, which includes the dismantling of all guerrilla fronts on the island, and the establishment of the Integrated Territorial Defense System.
Under the SIPS status, the province is considered relatively peaceful and cleared of communist insurgents, which reflects the ongoing progress in the government’s campaign against the insurgency in Negros.
The declaration will be a significant milestone for Negros Island, as the provinces have been plagued by communist insurgencies and other armed conflicts in recent years.
In March, the Regional Peace and Order Council in Western Visayas approved the Provincial Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Council’s recommendation to declare Negros Occidental under SIPS status.
Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson emphasized that their campaign against local terrorist groups has “gained substantial ground.”
The Philippine Army said five New People’s Army (NPA) guerrilla fronts in northern, central and southern Negros had been dismantled.
These are Central Negros 1, Central Negros 2, South East Front, Northern Negros Front, and South West Front.
However, the SIPS declaration does mean the area is insurgency-free as there are still remnants of the NPA in the province who are subject to the operations of the Philippine Army.
Brigadier General Joey Escanillas, 302nd Infantry Brigade Commanding Officer, said the SIPS status would be a key factor in boosting the province’s economic growth as it sends a signal to business entrepreneurs to invest in the province due to the relatively peaceful situation.
Teves arrest
Former Negros Oriental Representative Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves, Jr. was arrested in Timor-Leste capital Dili while playing golf on March 21, based on the International Criminal Police Organization’s (Interpol) red notice issued against him in February.
Teves was released from Becora Prison but was re-arrested and transferred to the Polícia Nacional of Timor-Leste.
In March, the delegation of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) that went to Timor-Leste following his arrest returned to the Philippines without the former congressman.
The Philippine government requested a Timor-Leste court for the custody of the expelled former solon.
The NBI said they would have to wait for the proceedings in Timor-Leste to finish before they could bring Teves back to the Philippines.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has ensured the safety of the former Negros Oriental 3rd District Representative following his arrest.
Timor-Leste ordered Teves, Jr. to be placed on house arrest, saying that he remains a “flight risk.”
On June 22, Teves was freed but under specific conditions imposed by the court, including regular reporting to a court officer and a restriction on leaving Timor-Leste while the extradition case is ongoing.
The DOJ also confirmed Teves’ release from house arrest.
In the same month, the Timor-Leste Court of Appeals granted the Philippines’ request for the extradition of Teves.
However, the court recently ordered evidence to be presented again in the case after the Teves camp contested the ruling on procedural grounds.
Teves was accused of masterminding the killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and nine other individuals in Pamplona town on March 4, 2023.
He and some individuals have also been charged with the deaths of three individuals in Negros Oriental in 2019.
Teves is facing 10 counts of murder, 12 counts of frustrated murder and four counts of attempted murder before the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 51 in relation to the Pamplona shootings.
He and 12 others were also designated as terrorists by the Anti-Terrorism Council last year, citing several alleged killings and harassment in Negros Oriental.
The DOJ said it remained confident that the Timor-Leste Court of Appeals would uphold its decision to extradite Teves.
In August, Teves, through his local legal team, filed his motion for reconsideration for the reversal of the order of the Timor-Leste government.
The Timor-Leste government has turned down his appeal for his extradition to the Philippines.
Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez, meanwhile, said the prosecution is preparing for the return of Teves to the country.
He also urged the Teves to face the charges against him and trust the country’s justice system.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said they remain committed to bringing Teves home.
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To be continued./WDJ