06/09/2026
From the hills of Bohol to the shores of Cebu, there is a voice beginning to whisper — no longer a voice of complaint, but a voice of awakening.
For years, we were taught that power lives in Metro Manila. That our gold, our fire, our fisheries, our industries must first pass through Imperial Manila before any blessing finds its way back to us. We have watched the oligarchs sit far away, deciding the fate of people whose shoreline in Panglao or whose hillside in Balamban they have never truly known.
But look at BARMM. Look at what becomes possible when a region is finally allowed to rise — 75% of what is collected stays on the very ground where it was earned, no longer forced to travel far only to return home wrapped in conditions.
What if Region VII — our Cebu, our Bohol — dared to ask for that same power? Not to break away, but to stand up. Only 25% would go to the national body, and the rest — the 75% — would remain here, growing our own roads, our own bridges, our own schools, our own hospitals. Cebu is the heartbeat of business. Bohol is the peace and beauty the world comes to see. Together, allowed to rise as one, they become a power the nation can no longer overlook — one that no longer needs to beg for favor from anyone.
This is not only about taxes. This is about cutting the chain of dependency — the habit of always waiting on Manila to feed us, to lead us, even to tell us who to look up to. It is time we stop idolizing the faces on the capital's screens and start recognizing the leaders born, raised, and striving beside us — here, on the land we love.
If the only real way to dismantle the nation's oligarchy is to return power and wealth to every region, then the time to begin is now. This is not one man's dream. This is a hope for every generation still to come.
If you are reading this — one of the great minds of Region VII, engineers, entrepreneurs, teachers, barangay leaders, sons and daughters of the Visayas with ambition in your hearts — this is for you. Let's turn this into a bill. Let's make it real.
Bohol and Cebu, rise together. The time of Region VII has come.