BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – When the 19th Congress opens on July 25, Visayan Bloc congressmen will give priority to the revival of the Negros Island Region (NIR).
An agreement was reached during a meeting before the previous Congress ended.
“All of the congressmen agreed to be authors of the bill seeking the creation of NIR,” according to Cong. Greg Gasataya of Bacolod City.
Lawmakers in the provinces of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor previously agreed that the new NIR will consist of the three provinces.
Negros Occidental 3rd District’s Cong. Francisco “Kiko” Benitez said the Visayan Bloc will convene for the 19th Congress with some new members as others have “graduated.”
A total of 12 congressmen from Negros island and Siquijor are jointly filing the bill.
Earlier, Bacolod City’s Mayor Alfredo “Albee” Benitez revealed that NIR may be revived sooner than expected. President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. may issue an Executive Order (EO) reviving the region before a law could be passed, he revealed.
An EO creating NIR was done before – in 2015 during the administration of then President Benigno Simeon Aquino III.
This was, however, revoked by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2017, citing budgetary constraints.
“If there is an EO in place, it (NIR) should be included in the General Appropriations Act of 2023,” said Negros Occidental provincial administrator Atty. Rayfrando Diaz.
He also said that since NIR was done before, its “social acceptability is beyond question.”
“There is a clamor for regional offices here on the island to facilitate the needs of our people, especially those that deal with national government agencies. We will have more access to them,” Diaz pointed out.
Under the new NIR proposal, all offices of major government agencies will be in Bacolod City while their extension offices will be in Dumaguete City.
The offices that offer social welfare services will be in Dumaguete City with their extension offices in Bacolod City./PN
