Negros Occidental Province

Also known as: Lalawigan ng Negros Occidental

Negros Occidental is a province in Region VI (Western Visayas) — pending NIR re-creation. Population 2.62M (PSA 2020 census), 13 cities + 19 municipalities, 661 barangays total, land area 7,965.21 km². Provincial capital: Bacolod City (Highly Urbanized — independent).

Provincial planning context

Negros Occidental has the largest LGU count of any Visayas province (32 component LGUs — 13 cities + 19 municipalities — the highest cities-to-municipalities ratio in the country). The PDPFP must coordinate the sugar industry transition that reshapes nearly every lowland LGU (haciendas converting to BPO-residential, agribusiness diversification, biofuel + renewable energy) with the Mt. Kanlaon volcanic + geothermal corridor (La Castellana, Canlaon, Don Salvador Benedicto), the southern tourism arc (Sipalay, Hinobaan), and the central Bacolod-adjacent industrial-residential conversion zones (Talisay, Silay, Murcia, Bago, La Carlota). Indigenous-people governance is a recurring planning concern in upland LGUs (Don Salvador Benedicto). The Negros Island Region (NIR) re-creation discussion would merge Negros Occidental + Negros Oriental + Siquijor into one region — the PDPFP must scenario-plan for that scenario.

Key industries: Sugar industry (PH's largest sugar-producing province), BPO (Bacolod-anchored, spilling into province), Tourism (Sipalay, Bago, Don Salvador Benedicto), Renewable energy (geothermal — Mt. Kanlaon), Agribusiness diversification, Mining (limestone, copper)

RA 12254 + PSGLG status

More on the regulatory framework: RA 12254 explainer · SGLG / PSGLG explainer · full glossary.

How Nova Gov fits Negros Occidental

Negros Occidental's sugar-industry transition combined with 32-LGU coordination + volcanic hazard overlays is the most demanding provincial-level pilot we could land. The PDPFP-to-CLUP fusion across so many LGUs is exactly the operational efficiency case AIOS regional dashboards make.