Executive Order 183

On May 29, 2015, President Benigno Aquino III signed Executive Order 183 creating the Negros Island Region (NIR).

Negros Occidental was carved from Region VI (Western Visayas), and Negros Oriental from Region VII (Central Visayas) to form the new region. Its regional center will be determined by a technical working group.

An idea 20 years in the making, the Negros Island Region was created "to further accelerate the social and economic development of the cities and municipalities comprising the provinces of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental and improve the delivery of public services in the aforementioned provinces."

What is a region?

Regions are administrative divisions that serve primarily to organize the provinces (lalawigan) of the country for administrative convenience. Currently, the archipelagic republic of the Philippines is divided into 18 regions. Most government offices are established by region instead of individual provincial offices, usually (but not always) in the city designated as the regional center.

The regions themselves do not possess a separate local government, with the exception of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which has an elected regional assembly and governor. The Cordillera Administrative Region was originally intended to be autonomous (Cordillera Autonomous Region), but the failure of two plebiscites for its establishment reduced it to a regular administrative region.

A province is a political unit created by law under R.A. 7160. It is a PUBLIC CORPORATION, vested with the power to administer and govern its political unit subject to limitations imposed by the constitution and existing laws.

What is a province?

Q: What is a public corporation?

A: It is one created by the State either by general or special act for purposes of administration of local government or rendering service in the public interest. (Rodriguez, p. 2, LGC 5th Edition)

Q: Distinguish public corporation from private corporation.A:

PUBLIC CORPORATION PRIVATE CORPORATIONPurposeAdministration of local government Private purpose

Who createsBy the state either by general or By incorporators special act

How createdBylegislation By agreement of members

Q: What is the criterion to determine whether a corporation is a public corporation?

By the relationship of the corporation to the state; if created by the State as its own agency to help it in carrying out its governmental functions, it is public, otherwise, it is private.

Q: What are the dual characteristics of a public corporation?A:1. Public or governmental – acts as an agent of the State for the government of the territory and its inhabitants.2. Private or proprietary – acts as an agent of the community in the administration of local affairs. As such, it acts as separate entity for its own purposes, and not a subdivision of the State. (Bara Lidasan vs. COMELEC G.R. No. L‐28089, October 25, 1967 citing McQuillin, Municipal Corporations, 3d ed., pp. 456‐464)

Q:What are the classes of corporations?A:1.Quasi Public corporations. public corporations created as agencies of the State for narrow and limited purposes without the powers and liabilities of self]governing corporations.2.Municipal Corporations. body politic and corporate constituted by the incorporation of inhabitants for purposes of local government. It is established by law partly as an agency of the State to assist in the civil government of the country, but chiefly to regulate and administer the local or internal affairs of the city, town or district which is incorporated. (Dillon, Municipal Corporations, Vol.2, pp. 58]59.)

Q: What are the essential elements of a municipal corporation?A:1.Legal creation2.Corporate name3.Inhabitants constituting the population who are vested with political and corporate powers4. Territory (Rodriguez, p.4, LGC 5th Edition)Note: The Sangguniang Panlalawigan may, in consultation with the Philippine Historical Commission change the name of component citiesand municipalities, upon the recommendation of the sangguniang concerned provided that the same shall be effective only upon ratification in a plebiscite conducted for the purpose in the political unit directly affected. (R.A. 7160, Sec. 13)

Q: What is the rule relative to the merger and division of local government units?A:1.Such division or merger shall not reduce the income, population or land area of the LGC concerned to less than the minimum requirement2. That the income classification of the original LGU/s shall not fall below its current income classification prior to the division3. A plebiscite must be held in LGUs affected4. Assets and liabilities of creation shall be equitably distributed between the LGUs affected and new LGU

Q:What are the requisites or limitations imposed on the creation or conversion of municipal corporations?A:1. Plebiscite requirement – must be approved by majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite called for such purpose in the political unit or units directly affected.Note: The plebiscite must be participated in by the residents of the mother province in order to conform to the constitutional requirement.

2. Income requirement – must be sufficient on acceptable standards to provide for all essential government facilities and services and special functions commensurate with the size of its population as expected of the local government unit concerned. Average annual income for the last consecutive year should be at least:

a.Province – P 20M b.Highly Urbanized City – P 50Mc.City – P 20M (100M RA. 9009 amending Sec 450 of LGC)d.Municipality – P 2.5M

3.Population requirement – to be determined as the total number of inhabitants within the territorial jurisdiction of the local government unit concerned. The required minimum population shall be:a.Barangay – 2KBut 5K in:i.Metro Manilaii. Highly urbanized cities

b. Municipality – 25K

c. City – 150K

d. Province – 250K

4. Land requirement – must be contiguous, unless it comprises two or more islands or is separated by a local government unit; properly identified by metes and bounds; and sufficient to provide for such basic services and facilities. Area requirements are:a. Municipality – 50 sq. km (Sec.442 R.A. 7160)b.City – 100 sq. km (Sec.450 R.A. 7160)c.Province – 2,000 sq.km (Sec.461 R.A. 7160)

REGION 18

Population

The region has a population of 4,194,525, as of 2010.

Negros Occidental, including its capital Bacolod City, has a population of 2,907,859 living in 13 cities and 19 municipalities, with a combined 662 barangays. Bacolod City, with a population of 511,820, is independent from the province due to its status as a highly-urbanized city.

Negros Oriental has a population of 1,286,666. It has a total of 557 barangays in 6 cities and 19 towns. Dumaguete City is the provincial capital.

Economic, Poverty DataNegros Occidental and Negros Oriental are both 1st class provinces. Their respective capitals, however, have different income classifications: Bacolod is a 1st class city, while Dumaguete is a 3rd class city.Negros Occidental is set to receive a total of P11.07 billion in internal revenue allotment (IRA) funds in 2015, while Negros Oriental would get a total of P5.86 billion, according to data from the Department of Budget and Management.

The Commission on Audit (COA) reported that Negros Occidental generated an income of P2.2 billion in 2013 – making it among the richest provinces in the country – while Negros Oriental earned P1.4 billion.

In terms of poverty, Negros Occidental has an estimated incidence rate of 32.3% of its population (and 24.9% among families), according to the 2012 full-year poverty statistics of the PSA.

Meanwhile, Negros Oriental recorded a higher poverty incidence rate, at 50.1% of its population (and 43.9% among families). The province ranks among the poorest ones in the country.

PoliticsThe governor of Negros Occidental is Alfredo Marañon Jr, who is now on his second term.

Affiliated with the local United Negros Alliance (Unega) party in the 2013 gubernatorial race, Marañon defeated then-Vice Governor Genaro Alvarez Jr of the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), the party of political kingmaker Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco Jr

Meawhile, the governor of Negros Oriental is Roel Degamo. In 2013, he ran under the PDP-Laban banner and won a second term, beating then-Representative Jocelyn Limkaichong of the Liberal Party (LP), former Finance Secretary Margarito Teves of NPC, and independent candidate Samuel Torres

Elected the top provincial board member in the 2010 polls, Degamo became governor in January 2011 after the death of then-Governor Agustin Perdices, who himself succeeded governor-elect Emilio Macias II who passed away weeks before he took office in June 2010.

The provinces' respective vice governors belong to opposing parties: Negros Occidental Vice Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson belongs to NPC, while Negros Oriental Vice Governor Mark Macias is from LP.

Negros Occidental has 6 legislative districts, plus a separate district for Bacolod City, while Negros Oriental has 3 districts

Negros OccidentalJulio Ledesma IV (1st district;NPC and is now on his 3rdterm)Leo Rafael Cueva (2nd district; National Unity Party or NUP, 1st term)Alfredo Benitez (3rd district; LP, 2nd term)Jeffrey Ferrer (4th district; Unega, 3rd term)Alejandro Mirasol (5th district; LP, 2nd term)Mercedes Alvarez (6th district; NPC, 2nd term)Evelio Leonardia (Bacolod City, lone district; NPC, 1st term)Negros OrientalManuel Iway (1st district; LP, 1st term)George Arnaiz (2nd district; NPC, 3rd term)Pryde Henry Teves (3rd district; NPC, 3rd term)

Transition workA technical working group (TWG) was constituted via EO 183 to handle the transition process. It is composed of the Office of the President, the Department of Budget and Management, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and representatives from the two Negros provinces.

The TWG will draw up a roadmap for "institutional arrangements" for the new region, and will recommend the preferred regional center. It will also arrange for organizational development, staffing, and budgeting of regional line agencies and regulatory agencies.

The following regional councils were also created for the NIR, with the following agencies as interim secretariats:

Negros Island Development Council - with NEDA as SecretariatNegros Island Peace and Order Council - with the DILG as SecretariatNegros Island Disaster Risk Response Management Council - with the Office of Civil Defense as Secretariat