Otso Diretso bets want to restore Negros Island Region

Mara Cepeda

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Otso Diretso bets want to restore Negros Island Region

Mara Cepeda

Otso Diretso senatorial candidate and Magdalo Representative Gary Alejano, who was born and raised in Sipalay City in Negros Occidental, says he supports the return of the Negros Island Region

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – Three senatorial bets of the Otso Diretso slate want to revive the Negros Island Region (NIR), which President Rodrigo Duterte dissolved in August 2017.

Magdalo Representative Gary Alejano, who hails from Sipalay City in Negros Occidental, said on Friday, February 22, that he supports the return of the NIR.

Dito ako pinanganak, dito ako lumaki, alam ko ‘yong hirap ng mga empleyado… So very kumbaga pahirap sa ating mga empleyado at tsaka ordinaryong mamamayan sa isla ng Negros. So it’s time na dapat isang island lang ‘to,” Alejano told reporters.

(I was born here, I grew up here, I know the plight of the employees… So this is hard for the employees and the ordinary citizens of the island of Negros. It’s time it becomes one island only.) 

In August 2017, Duterte signed Executive Order (EO) No. 38 which revoked EO No. 138, the document signed by former president Benigno Aquino III which created the NIR. Duterte’s EO reverted the provinces of Negros Occidental to Western Visayas and Negros Oriental to Central Visayas.

Alejano recalled that before Aquino created the NIR, his mother encountered difficulties in processing her government documents when she was still a teacher. The senatorial candidate said his mom had to cross the Guimaras Strait just to travel to Iloilo just to process her papers.

Gutoc, Hilbay also back NIR return

Marawi civic leader turned senatorial aspirant Samira Gutoc likewise expressed her support for NIR when one of the slate’s Ilonggo campaign volunteers sought her view on bringing back the region.

Bakit napakamahal, doon pa tayo sa malayong [rehiyon]? Hindi ba puwedeng isahan? Ang issue pa nila ay Maharlika daw, papalitan ang pangalan ng Pilipinas. One Negros muna, hindi Maharlika!” said Gutoc, taking a swipe at Duterte’s proposal to rename the Philippines to Maharlika. 

(Why do we prefer the more expensive option of going to another region? Can’t it just be one island? Then there’s the issue of changing the name of the Philippines to Maharlika. Let’s focus on One Negros first before Maharlika.)

Another Otso Diretso candidate, ex-solicitor general Florin Hilbay, also supported bringing back the NIR. Hilbay said this after another campaign volunteer asked him about his opinion on federalism.

Ang posisyon ng Otso Diretso ang tutulan ang pagpapalit ng Saligang Batas. Bakit? Napakamahal, hindi kailangan. Ano ‘yong puwedeng gawin? NIR, ‘di ba?” said Hilbay, who received a loud applause from the crowd. 

(The position of Otso Diretso is to oppose changing the Constitution. Why? It’s expensive and we don’t need it. What should be done instead? NIR, right?)

 “Puwedeng ipasa ‘yong batas. ‘Yong nandiyan na, nakahanda na, kailangan, puwede nang gawin, tinututulan. ‘Yong mahal – P243 billion daw ‘yong cha-cha – ‘yong nakakatakot, puwede tayong bumagsak sa isang diktadura, ‘yon ang pinipilit na gawin,” he added.

(You can pass the law. It’s ready, necessary, and doable, yet it is being opposed. They instead choose the more expensive option – P243 billion is needed for cha-cha – that may possibly lead us to a dictatorship.)

The Otso Diretso senatorial lineup spent around 12 hours on Friday barnstorming in Bacolod City, the capital of the country’s 5th most vote-rich province of Negros Occidental that has 1,889,200 voters registered for the May polls.

The opposition ticket is banking on the support of their campaign volunteers led by the likes of former provincial governor Lito Coscolluela to woo the Ilonggo vote. –Rappler.com

 

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Mara Cepeda

Mara Cepeda specializes in stories about politics and local governance. She covers the Office of the Vice President, the Senate, and the Philippine opposition. She is a 2021 fellow of the Asia Journalism Fellowship and the Reham al-Farra Memorial Journalism Fellowship of the UN. Got tips? Email her at mara.cepeda@rappler.com or tweet @maracepeda.