President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers a speech after signing into law the Negros Island Region Act (RA 12000) and the Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act (RA 12001) at Malacañang Palace on June 12, 2024.Revoli Cortez, PPA Pool

MANILA – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Thursday signed into law a bill that would create the Negros Island Region (NIR).

It will be composed of Negros Occidental including Bacolod City, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.

Marcos said this was "long overdue and makes very practical sense" since residents in these provinces are located in just one island but were governed under separate administrative regions. 

"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 said. 

"Equally glaring is the uneven growth and disparity of funding between the two provinces, which share many of the same natural resources and industries, such as sugar, tourism, [and] renewable energy," he said in his speech.. 

Marcos said the new region could be "one of the centers of development in the Visayas" that would accelerate socio-economic development for millions of Negrenses. 

"Indeed, in unity, there is always strength. And that is what we are building, and I trust that the people of the newly established Negros Island Region will work together to complement each other’s strengths to build a more united and flourishing Negrense community," Marcos said. 

 "This is something that the national government will have to play a very large part in and we pledge that assistance so that we can bring this new region up to speed as quickly as possible," he added. 

Following the signing of the bill, a technical working group will be constituted to formulate the plan or roadmap to put in place all institutional arrangements for the new region. 

It will be composed of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) as the secretariat, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the representative of the Office of the Governor of the provinces, and the representatives from all elected members of the House of Representatives of the provinces.

The DILG, DBM and NEDA, in consultation with the provincial governments that will compose the new region will promulgate the implementing rules and regulations of the NIR Act within 60 days from the effectivity of the law.