NegOr mayor supports proposal for new region

A NEGROS Oriental (NegOr) official said that the creation of a "One Negros Region" will pave the way for more projects for the province, compared to when it was part of Central Visayas.

In an interview with Cebu-based reporters during the weekend, Bayawan City Mayor Ismael Martinez expressed his support for the proposed "One Negros Region."

The proposal will bring together Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental as the Negros Island Region.

Martinez lamented that despite being part of the developing Central Visayas Region, NegOr only receives 10 to 15 percent of the funds intended for Region 7.

Majority of the funds, he said, goes to Cebu and Bohol.

Martinez also said that the proposed Negros Island Region will be more effective in the fight against insurgency because in the present setup, the Central Command of Region 7 and Western Command of Region 6 have to coordinate with each other during insurgency operations.

Martinez also said that language will not be an issue between the two Negros provinces.

While not fluent with each other's dialects, both Negros Oriental and Negros Oriental can speak and understand Bisaya.

Last month, President Benigno Aquino III expressed his support for the proposed Negros Island Region and plans to issue an executive order for its creation as long as all requirements are met.

Aquino said that he sees the Negros Island Region proposal as "logical" as both provinces belong to one island and will allow government services to be more accessible.

In the current set-up, Negros Occidental is under the Western Visayas or Region 6, which has regional offices in Iloilo City; while Negros Oriental is under Central Visayas or Region 7, which has regional offices in Cebu City.