‘ONE VISAYAS’: NIR to boost Visayas businesses, economy

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Local executives from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) in the newly established Negros Island Region (NIR) expressed optimism about the region’s business sector and economic prospects.

Edward Du, president of the Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NOCCI), welcomed the creation of the NIR, citing significant advantages for local businesses and transportation.

“First is the ease of doing business. There is definitely no need for us to go to distant places just to process our documents. Travel between Negros Oriental and Occidental will also be a lot easier and cheaper,” he said on Daily Guardian on Air via Aksyon Radyo-Iloilo on Friday last week.

The NOCCI president also emphasized that transportation between the two provinces will be efficient, with the vision that the infrastructure for transportation in the region will be developed and improved with the creation of the NIR.

“If there is more movement of goods and people between the two provinces, there will be more connectivity like roads, bridges, and even air travel in the future,” he explained.

Du said these two advantages will be further enhanced by the construction of the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges Project, which is anticipated to significantly reduce travel times between Panay Island and Guimaras from 45 minutes to 10 minutes, and between Guimaras and Negros from 60 minutes to 15 minutes.

Du also highlighted the strategic location of Negros Island, positioned between Panay Island, Cebu, and Bohol, which enhances its role as a hub for the movement of goods and services across the Visayas.

“Everybody will pass through Negros Island. The tourists from Bohol, even Leyte, if they want to go to Iloilo and Boracay Island, they have to go through us. There will be seamless connectivity from end to end, point to point,” he stressed.

Du also pointed out that the establishment of the Negros Island Region will lead to more infrastructure projects in their area.

He noted that previously, the budget allocations for infrastructure in Regions 6 and 7 were primarily directed towards Panay Island and Cebu, respectively.

Atty. Juliana Carbon, president of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, echoed the same positive outlook, suggesting that the creation of the NIR would spur growth and development, ultimately improving the lives of the people in Negros Island.

“We are moving towards One Visayas. There needs to be development and progress in all regions, not just in one region that will be flourishing,” she added.

Carbon emphasized the importance of collaboration among the various chambers of commerce in the region.

She also stressed that respective chambers have to work towards ensuring food security, power security, and water security, which are vital for any business venture.

“Our banner is ‘One Visayas.’ That would be better instead of each region having its own echo chambers. We need cooperation, support, and collaboration. The future of Visayas will be brighter,” she said.

However, challenges remain, including the establishment of regional agencies and the competition among local government units for these offices.

But Carbon believes these issues will be addressed through collaboration with the PCCI and the Regional Development Council for the NIR.

Meanwhile, PCCI-Iloilo president Fulbert Woo, in a separate interview, said that with the separation, the local government and the private sector should implement good programs and partnerships to accelerate economic growth and recover potential losses.

“We have to start somewhere. We lost something and we have to start somewhere,” Woo said when asked about the measures taken by the chamber amid the projection of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) that Western Visayas is projected to lose P380 billion in gross domestic product.

Du, on the other hand, downplayed the PSA’s projection, saying, “The alleged loss is just a number as far as businessmen are concerned. We look at that number as something that is just a statistic.”

He emphasized that trade and commerce across the regions in the Visayas would not diminish.

The pioneer batch of delegates from the NIR was welcomed to the 33rd Visayas Area Business Conference in Iloilo City last week.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recently signed into law the bill that creates the NIR, unifying the provinces of Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor.