By EUGENE ADIONG
KABANKALAN City — More than 200 officials and stakeholders in Negros Island yesterday gathered to declare their commitment to making “Negros Region” a reality.
“The attendance of the leaders of Negros Island today shows that we are in one voice in pushing for this [sic],” Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. said during the First Negros Summit at Zaycoland Resort here. The one-island Negros Region is “a go,” he announced.
Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo, in a message was relayed by Oriental Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) member Arnulfo Teves Jr., said he will fully support the move if all Oriental leaders do so. Degamo has expressed doubt on the plan.
Oriental Vice Gov. Edward Mark Macias, meanwhile, said the plan is “an apolitical issue that we can all support and work on [toward its] realization.”
Occidental Vice Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said that, once the plan is approved, “the SP will commit to approve the governor’s (Marañon) budget requests for initial funding for the regional center.”
Marañon believes that the amount of support thrown by Negros Island officials “is enough to convince President Benigno Aquino III that (Negrenses) are supporting (the plan).”
One hundred fifty officials signed a manifesto of support, which will be submitted to the offices of Aquino and Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas. No official present in the summit opposed the proposal.
Twelve cities and 15 towns in the island have already passed resolutions of support, records from Occidental Provincial Planning and Development Office showed.
Lower House representatives Rafael Cueva (Occidental, 2nd District), Jeffrey Ferrer (Occidental, 4th District), Evelio Leonardia (Bacolod City, represented by City Administrator John Orola), and Stephen Paduano (Abang Lingkod party-list) were also present.
Macias said some leaders, especially in Oriental, expressed apprehension on the plan, specifically on the “language barrier” and the equitable distribution of resources.
Kabankalan City Mayor Isidro Zayco said language is not a problem, as several areas in one province speak the language of the other. Also, “we should ensure that walang lamangan (not one province gets ahead of the other),” he said.
Meanwhile, Oriental Cong. Henry Pryde Teves, through his brother, Arnulfo Teves Jr., said Negros provinces get a small portion of projects from their respective regions.
“Negros Occidental gets about 10–15 percent from funds approved by the Regional Development Council in Western Visayas, while Negros Oriental gets less than 10 percent,” he said.
Businessman George Sanchez of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry said their group had reached to their counterparts in Oriental to get their sentiments.
“We shared with them a study that showed the whole of the Visayas gets $1.2 trillion in overseas development assistance, of which only $286 million worth of projects are given to Negros Occidental,” Sanchez said.
He said their counterparts should also check “how much projects are given to them from the regional center in Cebu.”/PN
