THE Negros Occidental Provincial Government is expected to send the manifesto asking President Rodrigo Duterte to retain Negros Island Region (NIR) to all Cabinet officials within the week.
Provincial Planning and Development Coordinator Ma. Lina Sanogal said the manifesto, which was signed by Negrense local executives, will be forwarded to them so they will be aware of the sentiments of the officials in NIR.
Governors Alfredo Marañon Jr. of Negros Occidental and Roel Degamo of Negros Oriental led the signing of the manifesto, which is also being circulated in the cities and towns of the two provinces.
Sanogal said they already sent the manifesto to Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority Director-General Guiling Mamondiong, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Judy Taguiwalo and Education Secretary Leonor Briones. All four have already signified their support to NIR.
Sueno had earlier said that he will tackle the NIR issue in the next Cabinet meeting on December.
NIR was not included in the 2017 national budget, and its funding will still be sourced from the previous regions of the two Negros provinces.
Marañon, for his part, said on Friday that he believes Duterte has a change of heart about NIR as he has not yet signed the executive order (EO) dissolving the region.
The governor had been reiterating that the creation of NIR has brought development to the two provinces, which are among the richest in the country.
Last week, Marañon and about 30 directors of regional line agencies appeared before the hearing of House Special Committee on Visayas Development chaired by Negros Occidental Fifth District Representative Alejandro Mirasol to address the issues and concerns about NIR.
Various sectors have supported the NIR.
Senators Juan Miguel Zubiri and Paolo Benigno Aquino IV have also expressed their opposition to the abolition of NIR.
Also known as Region 18, NIR was created on May 29, 2015 through an EO signed by former president Benigno Aquino III.
Federal group lobby
The Hugpong Federal Movement of the Philippines (HFMP) has been consistently communicating with the Office of the President to also call for the retention of NIR.
Ariel Caesar Jimenez, HFMP business director for Visayas, said Sunday their group is pushing to formalize the creation of NIR.
They are talking to national officials about their several concerns, including the petition of Negrense leaders to President Rodrigo Duterte to sustain the NIR, he added.
Jimenez said the group’s support is based on the belief that the creation of NIR will boost the economy of the localities and provide jobs and other opportunities to Negrenses.
“It has been a dream of Negrense leaders in the past four decades that Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental will stand as one region," he added.
On Saturday, about 3,000 Negrenses joined the activity of HFMP at the Panaad Stadium to advance the cause of federalism also seen to help Negrenses in their call for the retention of NIR.
A similar activity was held simultaneously in 11 places, with its main event held at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila.
Jimenez said there was no signing of manifesto of support for NIR and candle lighting rites, but local officials led by Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran highlighted the call to maintain NIR.
Jimenez said 70 percent of Filipinos are now supporting the advocacy of the President that aims to support and empower each region through power sharing by establishing departments that can act faster than to wait for the command of the central government.
