President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed the Negros Island Region (NIR) Act, or the Republic Act 12000, establishing a new Negros Island Region on Thursday.
The newly signed law will unify Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor in one region.
Negros Occidental will be separated from Western Visayas (Region 6); while Negros Oriental and Siquijor will be removed from Central Visayas (Region 7), bringing the country’s regions to 18.
“This union is long overdue and makes very practical sense, especially in the Negros Island, where people are located on one island but are governed under separate administrative regions,” the President said in his speech.
“So, for decades now, Negrenses have endured the rigors of sea travel, unnecessary expenses, bureaucratic red tape, and inefficiency that this arrangement has brought, especially when there is a need to urgently access government services from regional centers on other islands,” Marcos added.
Marcos also noted the disparity in terms of funding between the two provinces despite sharing the same resources.
Marcos said that the administration envisions the new region to be one of the centers of development in the Visayas.
