The Map Moved
Negros Island Region: the region that came back
Created in 2015, revoked in 2017 and re-created by law in 2024 with Siquijor, the Negros Island Region carries a name a 1975 tax decree had already used. Its island was once Buglas.
0:59 · Negros Island Region · October 9, 2026
The story
Born in 2015. Gone in 2017. Back by law in 2024. But its name is older: a 1975 tax decree already called it the Negros Island Region. They say the island was first called Buglas.
One province says it means cut off. The other says it was a tall grass, like sugarcane. Spain called it Negros. In 1890, Spain split it into two provinces. In May 2015, an executive order joined them into one region.
In August 2017, another order revoked it, citing the cost of new regional offices. In June 2024, a Republic Act brought it back, this time with Siquijor. The surprise: the law names no regional center. It shares the offices between Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental.
Negrense or Siquijodnon? In your town, does Buglas mean cut off, or the tall grass? Tell us in the comments.
More Stories
All Stories
Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
Bangsamoro: a people defined by a moment
The 2018 Organic Law defines the Bangsamoro by who was native when Spanish colonization began. Behind it: a mosque dated 1380, the sultanates, and place names that mean current, lake and far.
Why It's Called That
Bicol Region
Bicol Region: the day Mayon moved a town
Tradition says Bicol is named for a bending river. On 1 February 1814 Mayon buried Cagsawa; the town moved to Daraga, and in 1914 the Bicol Region made a pilgrimage to the ruins.
Why It's Called That
Cagayan Valley
Cagayan Valley: the cave and the giant province
A foot bone found in Callao Cave in 2007 led to Homo luzonensis, a human species named in 2019. The valley above was once one province covering all of northeast Luzon.
This Happened Here
CALABARZON
CALABARZON: every name was something else
CALABARZON is made of five province names, and most of them changed. Batangas was Kumintang, then Taal; Quezon was Kalilayan, then Tayabas. Cavite's hook story is told as a tradition.
Why It's Called That
