Roi Anthoni B. Lomotan
DUMAGUETE CITY, April
22 (PIA) – Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mar
Roxas hopes for more public consultations on the proposed 1 Negros Island
Region in Negros Oriental to inform residents on the issue.
Roxas said this in a
consultation forum on the topic with some local chief executives, provincial
board members, businessmen, religious sector representatives, Pantawid
Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries and Civil Society Organization
(CSO) leaders in Silliman University yesterday.
He pointed
out that a recent survey conducted by Silliman University showed half
of the people in the province are not aware of the proposal.
Silliman University
(SU) made a survey last year to know the public’s pulse on the issue. The
survey reveals 58% of Oriental Negrenses don’t know the 1 Negros Island Region
proposal. This was also reported in local dailies here.
Roxas calls for an
intensified information drive on the 1 Negros Island Region proposal to raise
the public’s awareness on its advantages and disadvantages for people
to make concrete stand on the topic.
“You need to inform
the people since the SU says about one half of the people have not heard of
this. Don’t keep them blind, tell them, involve them, discuss with them, debate
with them, so the whole province is part of the decision (making),” Roxas said.
“They cannot say ‘Yes,
we want’ or ‘No, we don’t want’ because they are unaware (of this),” He added.
He suggested
that Silliman University can host debates between those who are for and
against the proposal and hold more stakeholder consultations. On the other
hand, media outlets like radio stations can also facilitate on-air
consultations to reach more people.
“Consultation is not
unanimity, consultation is you ask majority of the people. We are for
democracy but there must be an honest to goodness consultation,” Sec. Roxas
noted.
According to Roxas,
what is important is for people to know what are the plans, the minuses and the
direction of the 1 Negros Island Region proposal.
Roxas also clarified
that the consultations are not meant to impose the 1 Negros Island Region
proposal to the public.
Roxas emphasized that
the objective of these dialogues is for people to understand the challenges as
well as the opportunities if there is one island region.
Negros Island is only
island in the country which belongs to two different regions. Negros Oriental,
which is in the eastern side is under Region 7 while Negros Occidental on the
western side is part of Region 6. If the proposal pushes through, these Negros
provinces will create a new region and will be separated from their former
regions.
Sec. Roxas sees the
proposal a good move to fast track development interventions in the two Negros
provinces since a new regional development council will be formed which will
determine a roadmap for progress for Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental.
He explained that
currently, Negros Oriental is one of the provinces in the country with high
poverty incidence. This is due to the lack of infrastructure like roads,
bridges access roads, etc.
On the other hand,
Negros Occidental does not suffer from high poverty incidence but since it has
a bigger population than the other province, the occidental side of the island
has registered high number of poor families.
However, it is still
the people who will decide if they want to have a 1 Negros Island Region.
“In the end we
respect the people. You have the decision,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Negros
Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo who also attended the forum said he is open to the
idea of having a 1 Negros Island Region but there should be a thorough study on
the benefits of the proposal to Oriental Negrenses.
Gov. Degamo requests
more time to inform people on this proposal especially its advantages and
disadvantages for Negros Oriental and more time to think over the things to
consider with regard to the 1 Negros Island Region. (mbcn/ral/PIA7-Negros
Oriental)