The governor of Negros Occidental is the local chief executive and head of the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental. Along with the

governor of Negros Oriental The Governor of Negros Oriental is the local chief executive and head of the Negros Oriental, Provincial Government of Negros Oriental. Along with the Governor of Negros Occidental and the Mayor of Bacolod, Mayor of the highly urbanized city of ...

and the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of the highly urbanized city of

Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; ; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Negros Island Region in the Philippines. With a total of 600,783 inhabitants as of the 2020 census, it is th ...

, he serves as one of the chief executives of Negros Island in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Formation

Before independence, the position had been occupied by appointed Spanish military commanders that also serve the role of governor since the transfer of the capital to

in 1849. Previously, the local chief executive post was vested on the "Corregidor," or the commander of the military outpost, in the two previous capitals of

Ilog, Negros Occidental Ilog, officially the Municipality of Ilog, is a municipality in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 59,855 people. Ilog is from Bacolod. Etymology The name ''Ilog'' (or ''Ylog' ...

and

Himamaylan Himamaylan (), officially the City of Himamaylan (; ), is a component city in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 116,240 people. Due to its coastal location, it is a rich sou ...

. After the

Negros Revolution The Negros Revolution (; ; ), commemorated and popularly known as the Fifth of November () or Negros Day (; ; ), was a political movement that in 1898 created a government on Negros Island in the Philippines, ending Spanish control of the isla ...

, all provincial authority divested on the Office of the President and

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

, representing Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental. Americans occupied the fledgling republic and requested the provisional government to conduct an island-wide election for the gubernatorial post. Melecio Severino of Silay emerged as the first elected governor.

Line of succession

As with the

president of the Philippines The president of the Philippines (, sometimes referred to as ) is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-ch ...

, the role of governor is passed on to the vice governor of Negros Occidental in case of incapacity, resignation or death. But unlike the national line of succession, the board member designated as the first in line for garnering the highest number of votes succeeds as vice governor, also the same should only the vice governor be incapacitated. Should both the governor and vice governor be incapacitated, the same would succeed as governor and the board member with the second highest number of votes would succeed as vice governor.

Duties and related offices

By the convention set for the newly created

Negros Island Region The Negros Island Region (NIR). is an administrative region in the Philippines. Covering both the islands of Negros and Siquijor, the region is composed of three provinces: Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor, as well as the ...

, the governor of Negros Occidental sits as chairperson of one of the two regional councils, namely the Regional Development Council and the Regional Peace and Order Council. Currently, the governor of Negros Occidental is Eugenio Jose "Bong" Lacson. A spouse of the governor of Negros Occidental is accorded the title of "First Lady," but alternatively called "Gubernatorial First Lady" or "Provincial First Lady," as not to confuse with the office of the

First Lady of the Philippines The first lady or first gentleman of the Philippines () is the courtesy title given to the host or hostess of Malacañang Palace, the residence of the head of state and head of government of the Philippines. The title is traditionally held by t ...

. Unlike the First Lady of the Philippines, the Provincial First Lady is not accorded a formal ceremonial role, but rather conventionally represents the governor in the social activities of the province.

List of governors

Spanish governors of Negros province

From the formal establishment of the military outpost in the pueblo of

Ilog ILOG S.A. was an international software company purchased and incorporated into IBM announced in January, 2009. It created enterprise software products for supply chain, business rule management, visualization and optimization. The main product ...

until the promulgation of a royal decree dividing the island into

Negros Occidental Negros Occidental (; ), officially the Province of Negros Occidental (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Negros, Negros Island. Its capital is the city of Bacolod, of which it is geographically s ...

and

Negros Oriental Negros Oriental (; ), officially the Province of Negros Oriental (; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Negros Island. Its capital is the city of Dumaguete, one of the two regional centers of Negros Island Region, with the other b ...

on October 25, 1889,

Negros Island Negros (, , ) is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . The coastal zone of the southern part of Negros is identified as a site of highest marine biodiversity importance in the Coral T ...

was governed as a single province starting from being under the jurisdiction of

Oton, Iloilo Oton, officially the Municipality of Oton (; , , ), is a municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 98,509 people making it as the most populous town in the province and the entire ...

until it established its capitals in

(1734),

(1795) and

(1849).

Spanish governors of Negros Occidental

Governor General Valeriano Wéyler promulgated a royal decree on October 25, 1889, which divided the island into two provinces, namely

and

, upon the request of the 13 Augustinian Recollect friars administering the towns east of the island.

was retained as the capital of Negros Occidental.

Revolutionary government

Filipino governors

This list includes governors appointed or elected since the end of Spanish rule, the recognized start of the institutional office.

References

{{Provincial governors in the Philippines Governors of Negros Occidental