Negros Island Region

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Negros Island Region
NIR/Region XVIII
Region
{{safesubst:#property:P242}}
Location in the Philippines
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country Philippines
Island Group Visayas
Regional Center
(Interim)		 Bacolod and Dumaguete¹
Area
 • Total 13,350.74 km2 (5,154.75 sq mi)
Population (Error: Invalid time. lua error in module:wikidata at line 879: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).)[1]
 • Total {{safesubst:#property:P1,082}}
 • Density 330.63/km2 (856.3/sq mi)
Demonym(s)
Divisions
 • Provinces
2
 • Highly urbanized city
1
 • Component cities
18
 • Municipalities 38
 • Barangays 1,219
 • Districts 11
Time zone PHT (UTC+8)
Spoken languages
  • ¹ - Bacolod and Dumaguete are interim joint, temporary regional centers for a three-year transition period. Kabankalan and neighboring Mabinay are to be joint, permanent regional centers.

The Negros Island Region (Hiligaynon: Rehiyon sang Pulo sang Negros; Cebuano: Rehiyon sa Isla sa Negros; Filipino: Rehiyon ng Pulo ng Negros; abbreviated as NIR) is the 18th region of the Philippines comprising the provinces of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental with the highly urbanized city of Bacolod in the island of Negros.[2][3]

The region was created by virtue of Executive Order No. 183 issued by President Benigno Aquino III on May 29, 2015.[4][5]

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History

Formation of regions

Regions first came to existence on September 24, 1972 when the provinces of the Philippines were organized into 11 regions by Presidential Decree No. 1 as part of the Integrated Reorganization Plan of President Ferdinand Marcos. Negros Occidental was assigned to Western Visayas (Region VI) while Negros Oriental became part of Central Visayas (Region VII).

Early initiatives

The movement for a single-island region started in the 1980s when officials of both provinces proposed a one-island, one-region unit. At the time, Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental were the only provinces in the Philippines situated in the same island but belonging to two different administrative regions with regional offices located in neighboring Panay and Cebu. This led to the filing of House Bill No. 1477 titled "An Act Merging the Province of Negros Occidental and Oriental into One-Island Region." They argued, among others, that the two provinces "nestle in one common island; have common fowls and beasts in the forest; share the same soil in our plains and mountains; benefit and suffer together from the rivers that snake through our land; and our ancestors roamed the same length and breadth without complications of political, social, economic, religious and lingual obstacles."

The proposal was continued through talks between former Governor Bitay Lacson of Negros Occidental and the late former Governor Emilio Macias of Negros Oriental in 1990. Their successors, former Governor Rafael Coscolluella and former Governor (now Representative) George Arnaiz took the initiative further, first identifying Kabankalan City in Negros Occidental and the neighboring municipality of Mabinay in Negros Oriental, with the two situated on or near the geographic center of the island, as joint regional centers. However, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) turned down the proposal for lack of funds to effect the merger.[6]

Revival of proposal

First page of the Executive Order creating Negros Island Region

In 2013, the one-island region talks were continued by Negros Oriental Representatives Pryde Henry Teves and George Arnaiz and Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. with Representative Alfredo Marañon III and Coscolluela.[7] They pointed out that while the creation of a new region will entail substantial costs to the government, it will be advantageous to the people of both provinces because they would not need to travel by sea anymore to process transactions in the regional offices.[8] They also claimed that a one-island region would also result to better coordination between both provinces in tourism, peace and order, environment, development planning, disaster management and road infrastructure. Edward Du, president of the Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also proposed to convert existing offices of national agencies in the provincial capitals of Bacolod and Dumaguete to sub-regional offices during an interim period if the proposal is approved to defray the costs of establishing a new regional center. Various public officials and representatives from the academe, religious, media and other private sectors aired support for the proposal.[9][10]

Notably, Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo was tagged to be initially opposed to the talks, claiming he was not convinced with a one-island region setup and that his constituents are allegedly not in favor of its creation.[11] He eventually clarified that his original stand as regards the region was being "open" to it and that there were some concerns, such as revenue sharing between the two provinces, that had to be threshed out first.[12]

President Benigno Aquino III directed the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to study the establishment of a new region.[13] The DILG subsequently endorsed the proposal, noting that the new region would mean integrated planning for holistic development, disaster management, tourism promotion, and peace and order management.[14] NEDA affirmed by saying that its studies show that the proposed region is economically viable.[15]

Establishment

On May 29, 2015, President Aquino signed Executive Order 183,[16] joining the two Negros provinces into one region—the Negros Island Region. It separated Negros Occidental from Region VI and Negros Oriental from Region VII, making the total number of regions of the Philippines to 18.[4][5]

Future development

The possible inclusion of Siquijor to this newly formed island region was thought by the Interior Secretary Mar Roxas during his visit in the province. Currently, Siquijor is part of Central Visayas. On average, it takes five hours to reach the regional offices located in Cebu while an hour to get to Negros Oriental. Siquijor used to be a part and later on a sub-province of Negros Oriental, gaining full province status in 1973.[17]

Demographics

Population census of Negros Island Region
Year Pop. ±%
2000 3,695,811 —    
2010 4,194,525 +13.5%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[1]

Administrative divisions

Negros Island Region comprises 1 highly urbanized city, 18 component cities, 38 municipalities and 1,219 barangays.

Province or HUC Capital Population (2015)[1] Area[18] Density Cities Muni. Bgy.
km2 sq mi /km2 /sq mi
Negros Occidental Bacolod 56.6% 2,497,261 7,802.54 3,012.58 320 830 12 19 601
Negros Oriental Dumaguete 30.7% 1,354,995 5,385.53 2,079.36 250 650 6 19 557
Bacolod † — 12.7% 561,875 162.67 62.81 3,500 9,100 — — 61
Total 4,414,131 13,350.74 5,154.75 330 850 19 38 1,219

 †  Bacolod is a highly-urbanized city; figures are excluded from Negros Occidental.

Negros Island Region has the least number of provinces in the Philippines (only 2). It has 19 cities (including the highly-urbanized city of Bacolod), making it the second region with the most cities after CALABARZON (which has 20).

Negros Occidental has the most chartered cities among all the provinces in the Philippines. The province comprises 13 cities and 19 municipalities, which are further subdivided into 601 barangays. Although Bacolod serves as the capital, it is governed independently from the province as a highly urbanized city. Negros Oriental comprises 6 cities and 19 municipalities, with 557 barangays.

Transportation

Airports

The Bacolod-Silay International Airport Terminal Building.

International

Domestic

References

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  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  1. REDIRECT Template:Administrative divisions of the Philippines

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