Presidential aspirant Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso said on Wednesday he would support the re-establishment of the Negros Island Region (NIR) if the Negrenses would prefer to be together under one region.

The Manila City mayor, who is in the province and this capital city for a two-day campaign schedule until Thursday, said the government should listen to people’s concerns.

“Ang gobyerno dapat may tenga sa tao (The government should listen to the people). While it is true you have some aspirations in leadership, kung gusto niyo (if you want) unification as one Negros, ako (Me) 101 percent, I will support you,” he added.

The NIR was formed on May 29, 2015, after then-President Benigno Aquino III signed Executive Order (EO) 183 that separated Negros Occidental from Western Visayas and Negros Oriental from Central Visayas.

On Aug. 7, 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte signed EO 38 abolishing the NIR, saying the establishment of regional offices of departments and agencies requires substantial appropriation to be fully operational, thus competing with government priority programs and projects funding.

In November last year, separate bills were filed in the Senate and the House of Representatives to legislate the establishment of the NIR.

Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri sponsored Senate Bill 2453, or the NIR Act, that seeks to bring together Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Bacolod City, and establish these as a single administrative region called the Negros Island Administrative Region.

Negros Occidental Third District Rep. Jose Francisco Benitez, together with eight other representatives from Negros Island, filed House Bill 10534 for the creation of the NIR “for greater economic coordination and more efficient delivery of public services to promote sustainable and inclusive economic development in Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental”. (PNA)