Philippine E-Journals

One Island, One Region: A History of Dominance and Union in Negros Island

Earl Jude Paul L. Cleope

 

Abstract:

This paper tries to offer a fresh perspective of an interdisciplinary structure by looking at the motivations of the political, economic, and religious leaders in the historical development of Negros Island. It uses the lenses of psychohistory which is the science of historical motivation as espoused by Lloyd de Mause in 1982. This scheme combines the insights of psychology with the research methodology of the social sciences to understand the emotional origin of the social and political behavior of groups and individuals in the historical discourse. It further posits that the study of historical motivations will lead historians and others to see the true motivations behind past human actions. In doing so, a better understanding of history will be developed. The paper deals with the initiative of creating a one-island political region that originated in the 1980s in Negros Island which culminated in the signing of E.O. 183 by President Aquino last 29 May 2015, establishing the creation of the Negros Island Region or Region XVIII. The political leaders have been wary of the set-up of the island’s two provinces belonging to separate regional jurisdictions – Negros Occidental was part of Region VI, and Negros Oriental was part of Region VII. This made the island back then as the only major island in the archipelago with the two provinces belonging to two different regions. Hence, formulation of development plans and regional government agencies have been based in regional capitals in Iloilo City in Panay for Region VI and Cebu City in Cebu Island for Region VII. The military as well as the health and business sectors welcome a one island-region idea, but other sectors such as the CPP/NPA, some NGOs and POs, and other political leaders and educators are critical of this movement. However, a cursory look at the discourse traced back the origin of the influences even back to the colonial times. This paper attempts to identify the discourses to understand the manifestations of the themes of dominance and union in the evolution of the movement that can be traced from the Spanish occupation up to the present. Moreover, it looks into the various factors behind the concepts of domination and consolidation which have been a motivating force, influenced by the dynamics of powers that have brought changes in the island.