FLOOD President Rodrigo Duterte with appeal to retain Negros Island Region (NIR).
This was the call of Local Government Undersecretary for Public Safety Jesus Hinlo Jr. to thousands of Negrenses who attended the opening rites of the 24th Panaad sa Negros Festival at the Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod City on Saturday, April 22.
Hinlo, a Negrense himself, said that last March 6, he personally appealed to the President to retain the young region, and Duterte told him to submit a memorandum in support to the NIR retention.
"I will submit the memorandum within the week," he added.
Hinlo said he will also ask the Congress to help the call of the Negrenses not to abolish NIR.
"Let's write to Malacañang. Let's flood him (Duterte) with our appeals," the official urged his fellow Negrenses.
He said a number of billboards were also put up in the major streets of Manila, "not because I want it, but you (Negrenses) want it."
"We have done everything, but many are still opposing NIR," Hinlo said, as he also urged Negrenses to continue to pray and trust the President to "hear us."
Hinlo also said that Secretary Catalino Cuy, who recently assumed the leadership at the Department of the Interior and Local Government, is supporting the NIR.
Cuy, in his message during the Panaad opening ceremony read by Hinlo, assured the Negrenses that he will continue to champion one of his core advocacies, the retention of NIR.
He said he had seen the benefits of the NIR on the part of the Philippine National Police.
"The establishment of this new region has improved their response and increased their efficiency in performing the functions of the force, especially in fulfilling President Duterte's campaign promise to rid the country its ills," he added.
He said change has become a battle cry for all of us.
"When sweeping changes arrive, we don't want anyone left behind, especially in the change that could bring about prosperity, lots of new opportunities and infrastructure for the people," Cuy said in his message.
He assured the Negrenses that he is with their collective efforts to "shine" throughout the country.
The fate of NIR remained uncertain as the Duterte administration has yet to decide whether to retain the region or not.
Earlier, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said that the executive order (EO) abolishing NIR is ready to be signed by Duterte, as he expressed opposition on the continued existence of the new region due to budget constraints.
He also said that the creation of NIR is unconstitutional.
On May 29, 2015, former President Benigno Aquino III signed the EO creating NIR, which separated Negros Occidental from Western Visayas and Negros Oriental from Central Visayas.