Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS 
Third Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _______ 
Introduced by REP. JOSE FRANCISCO “KIKO” B. BENITEZ,  
REP.  MA. LOURDES T. ARROYO, REP. LEO RAFAEL CUEVA,  
REP.  JULIET MARIE DE LEON FERRER, REP. GREG G. GASATAYA,  
REP. JOSEPH STEPHEN S. PADUANO, REP. JOCELYN SY-LIMKAICHONG, 
REP. ARNOLFO A. TEVES. JR, and REP. GERARDO P. VALMAYOR JR.  
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Article X, Section 14 of the 1987 Constitution speaks of administrative decentralization to 
strengthen the autonomy of local government units and to accelerate economic and social 
development of the same. 
Pursuant to this mandate, administrative regions are established or reorganized to promote 
efficient delivery of public services. In 2015, the Negros Island Region was created by virtue 
of Executive Order No. 183 for this purpose. However, due to the substantial funding 
requirement for the full operation of regional offices in the Negros Island Region, Executive 
Order No. 183, Series of 2015, was revoked in 2017, and the transfer of functions, personnel, 
assets and responsibilities was reversed pursuant to Executive Order No. 38, Series of 2017.  
The dream of consolidating the two Negros provinces in one administrative region, however, 
continues to live on – an aspiration that is deeply grounded in their histories. 
For 300 years under the Spanish colonial government, Negros Occidental and Negros 
Oriental had been governed as one province. Only in 1890 was Negros divided into two 
provinces. 
The two Negros provinces united once again in establishing the cantonal government of 
Negros (popularly called the “Republic of Negros” but officially the Gobierno Republicano 
Federal del Canton de Ysla de Negros or Federal Republican Government of the Canton of 
Negros Island) in 1898, after the surrender of Spanish colonial authorities in Negros 
Occidental. The autonomy of the Negros Canton had been short-lived – undermined first by 
the establishment of a unitary government under the Malolos Constitution, then by American 
occupation.  
Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental had henceforward taken different trajectories. Their 
destinies, however, converge on one commodity: sugar. The sugar industry has shaped the 
provinces’ history, economy and culture. Negros Island accounts for half of the country’s 
total sugarcane production. The island’s economic dependence on sugar, however, has made 
it vulnerable to price fluctuations in the world market. The decline of the sugar industry in the 
1980s due to low sugar prices had stirred up labor unrest and political dissent, and turned 
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Negros Island into a hotbed of insurgency. The ideological divide that rocked Negros’ sugar 
economy reverberates until today.  
The challenge thus is to transform the economy of Negros Island to ensure that economic 
growth redounds to the benefit of the people. Here, the close economic coordination of the 
two Negros is crucial. Re-unifying the two Negros under one administrative region therefore 
becomes necessary. 
Greater economic coordination will strengthen economies of scale in the island, and will 
consolidate separate development plans into a coherent, complementary roadmap for 
sustainable and inclusive economic growth for the two Negros provinces. 
In view of this, the immediate approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
REP. JOSE FRANCISCO “KIKO” B. BENITEZ 
REP.  MA. LOURDES T. ARROYO     
REP. LEO RAFAEL CUEVA 
REP. JULIET MARIE DE LEON 
FERRER
REP. GREG G. GASATAYA
REP. JOSEPH STEPHEN S. PADUANO 
REP. JOCELYN SY-LIMKAICHONG 
REP. ARNOLFO A. TEVES. JR 
REP. GERARDO P. VALMAYOR JR. 


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS 
Third Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _______ 
Introduced by REP. JOSE FRANCISCO “KIKO” B. BENITEZ,  
REP.  MA. LOURDES T. ARROYO, REP. LEO RAFAEL CUEVA,  
REP.  JULIET MARIE DE LEON FERRER, REP. GREG G. GASATAYA,  
REP. JOSEPH STEPHEN S. PADUANO, REP. JOCELYN SY-LIMKAICHONG, 
REP. ARNOLFO A. TEVES. JR, and REP. GERARDO P. VALMAYOR JR.  
AN ACT 
ESTABLISHING THE NEGROS ISLAND REGION AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled:  
SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the “Negros Island Region Act”. 
SEC. 2. It is hereby declared the policy of the State to promote efficiency in the government, 
and accelerate social and economic development. 
In consonance with this policy, the State shall provide for administrative decentralization to 
strengthen the autonomy of local government units, enhance the delivery of public services, 
and promote a more equitable distribution of opportunities and resources in the regions. 
SEC. 4. The Negros Island Region, hereinafter referred to as NIR, is hereby established to be 
composed of the following provinces, including the component cities, municipalities and 
barangays therein, and independent city: 
(a) Provinces:
1. Negros Occidental
2. Negros Oriental
(b) Independent city:
1. Bacolod City
SEC 5. The Provinces of Antique, Capiz, Guimaras and Iloilo, and Iloilo City shall hereupon 
form part of Region VI. 
SEC. 6. As the Province of Negros Oriental is hereupon transferred from Region VII to the 
NIR, Region VII shall be composed of the Provinces of Cebu, Bohol and Siquijor, and Cebu 
City. 
SEC. 7. The same privileges under the rules and regulations covering the regions shall 
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remain in force. 
 
SEC. 8. Within sixty (60) days from the approval of this Act, the National Economic and 
Development Authority, in coordination with the Department of the Interior and Local 
Government, shall formulate and promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the 
establishment of the regional center. The implementing rules and regulations issued pursuant 
to this section shall take effect thirty (30) days after its publication in at least two (2) national 
newspapers of general circulation. 
 
SEC. 9. All laws, decrees, orders and rules and regulations which are inconsistent with this 
Act are hereby amended, repealed or modified accordingly. 
 
SEC. 10. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official 
Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
Approved,