Big-time "drug pusher" falls, P800T of shabu confiscated One Negros Island Region proposal: Consolidation or domination

CEBU, Philippines - When a friend asked me what I think of the "One Negros Island Region" proposal, I did not hesitate to express my concerns. I told him that the people concocting this scheme are putting the cart before the horse. Unfortunately, we have a penchant for doing things in the wrong order.

I also told him that this is what happens when political leaders become less imaginative and less reflective when addressing the real issue of the island's diversity and development. I say this because the main problem of Negros Island is not about political administration but infrastructural neglect.

How do you tie up the two diverse provinces? How do you connect the various constituencies of the island that will have an immediate impact on their lives?

Here is a starter. Has anyone thought of transforming the decrepit two-lane Kabankalan/Mabinay/Bais road into a no-nonsense eight-lane freeway? That is very doable, right? But if our leaders in Negros are overwhelmed by the magnitude of an eight-lane freeway, I am willing to settle for a no-nonsense four-lane freeway.

If realized, just imagine the "multiplier effects" of that freeway to the development of the Island. Not only will it empower the people of that island corridor to be more energetic, but also, to be more productive because now they have an efficient and expeditious transportation system to move their goods and services between market areas and throughout the island.

There has been a lot of talk of making Negros Island a mini-Singapore. But has anyone thought of constructing a rapid rail system around the island? Has anyone thought of a highland four-lane freeway system traversing Bayawan and Mabinay in the South up to Sagay to the North and connected to towns along the coastline by secondary feeder roads? Has anyone thought of creating selected growth centers around the island connected to a transportation network system? 

This type of infrastructural development alone is adequate to spontaneously spur the economic growth of Negros Island that so many are longing for. If this is done, who needs the political schemers and reorganizers of the island? Besides, the one region proposal will end up being redundant, if not, irrelevant. And why is that? Well, by de facto, Negros Island will naturally move to a more progressive and economically integrated region by itself if we have a laser focus on its infrastructural development.

How about that, my fellow Negrenses? If you think this is a good plan, I tell you, if we challenge and push our creative powers a little bit further, there are more and better plans to be had. Here's my commitment: I do not mind giving pro bono service during my quarter breaks in conceptualizing, developing, and writing of the Negros Island Regional Plan if asked to help.

I know this is a highly volatile political issue and I am not privy to what is happening in Negros Island politically. One thing I am sure though, we don't run out of unthinking schemers and shallow players bent on pursuing their unexamined vested interests. In Hiligaynon, "Damo guid na sila dira" or in Cebuano, "Daghan dyud na sila dinha."

Of course, the proponents talk a lot about the proposal's advantages to the development of the island. That, I quickly grasp because those justifications are easy to invent especially if they serve an objective. For me, it's a no-brainer. However, no one really talks about the One Negros Island Region proposal in a deeper sense. Somehow, it is buried and hidden from the onslaught of political maneuverings and the excitement of the prospect of an almost "done deal" involving national figures. That is, talks about the unspoken disadvantages inherent in the nature of a consolidated power.

For example, no one seriously pays attention to what I call the "latent polarizing effect" embedded in the One Negros Island Region scheme. That is, there is already that extant apprehension among the geographically and economically less-endowed constituents of the island ending up being dominated by one group.  

As it is, Negros Oriental lags behind Negros Occidental populationally and economically. Thus, it is not unrealistic to assume that the latter has the competitive edge over the former in terms of power and influence. The reality is, our island's political system, just like any other political system in the country, is rigged in favor of those who have more population and economic resources. Particularly, money is so powerful a force in politics and media that it defines who will likely prevail in the political contest.

To be blunt about it, given the diverse geographic, economic, social, and linguistic characteristics of Negros Island, why should one group dominate another group? Or, if one group has a dream of domination, who will end up dominating the island politically?

In short, it is a serious latent divisive problem that the proposal cannot mitigate or make it go away.

Reprinted from GMA7 News website. The author finished his Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning from Michigan State University as a Fulbright Scholar. Currently he teaches at California State University, East Bay and serves as an urban planning consultant to some LGUs in the Philippines. (FREEMAN)