The Negros Island Region is not unconstitutional, its critics should give it a chance to spur economic growth and bring services closer to the people.
That was the reaction of three Negros Island representatives who authored Republic Act 12000 (NIR Act) that unifies the provinces of Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor into one administrative region, on Monday, Sept. 2, to a group’s call to halt its implementation.
Six Negros Oriental and Siquijor residents filed a petition before the Supreme Court on Friday, August 30, to halt the implementation of RA 12000 and to declare it unconstitutional.
Rep. Jocelyn Sy Limkaichong (Neg. Or., 1st District) said “the bottom line is that the NIR is a landmark legislation aimed at spurring development across all three provinces”.
“It’s unfortunate that we have a petition like this, but RA 12000’s gains outweigh whatever negative apprehensions the opposing parties have”, Limkaichong said.
She said it is now up to the Supreme Court to rule on its constitutionality, “but as one of the principal authors of the law, I stand by the legislative process that was followed in creating the NIR”.
The NIR was enacted after rigorous scrutiny and deliberation in both Houses of Congress. Extensive consultations were conducted through the elected representatives of Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, and Siquijor, ensuring that the voices of our people were heard, Limkaichong said.
Secretary Francisco Benitez, director general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and former representative of the 3rd District of Negros Occidental, said “I believe it’s constitutional, primarily because it doesn’t create any new local government unit – all provinces and towns remain the same. The only difference is new central government agency offices.”
“It will be set-up to better serve the people of Negros and Siquijor,” Benitez said.
Rep. Mercedes Alvarez (Neg. Occ., 6th District) said it is the right of the petitioners to file a petition before the SC but she wishes they would give the NIR a chance.
She said the NIR Act is not unconstitutional because they followed all the procedures – they are not creating a new local government unit and elected positions, it is an administrative region.
The purpose of the new region is to make the delivery of services by the national government more efficient, she said.
Alvarez said the implementation of the NIR is ongoing with the Internal Rules and Regulations already completed.
She hopes the petition filed before the SC is not politically motivated because the NIR was created with the purest intention to make services of national government easier and accessible to all, Alvarez said.
“I’ve always believed that we (in the three provinces) have more common interests than differences,” Alvarez added.
The SC petition seeking to halt the NIR implementation was filed versus the Republic of the Philippines through the Office of the Solicitor General by petitioners Fr. Hendrix C. Alar, Dr. Maria Lina R. Eparwa, Engr. Wilfredo L. Magallano and lawyers Marcelino C. Maxino, Jose Imaculado L. Palmitos, and Grace A. Sumalpong.
The petition filed before the SC seeks the issuance of a temporary restraining order or a writ of preliminary injunction on the implementation of the NIR and for it to be declared unconstitutional.
“The people of Negros Oriental and Siquijor are being legally compelled to accept a law that materially alters their way of life, unduly burdens their local government units, and forces them to be part of an aggrupation with people they have little historical or cultural affinity with,” the petitioners said. *