BACOLOD City – The creation of the Negros Island Region (NIR) should be “economically viable” as the proposed legislation will soon be tackled in the Senate.
Sen. Imee Marcos said it always ends up being an economic effort.
“If you’re going to set up a new area, it should be viable economically. Dapat sulit kasi maglalagay ka ng mga opisina. Mahal yan eh,” she said in a media interview on Friday night.
Marcos said she has not heard much about the NIR bill in the Senate and does not have a position yet on the proposal.
“There was the argument that it was not feasible economically. I don’t know what the revivalists have to say today. I think we have to visit it,” she said.
Marcos joined Vice President and concurrent Education Secretary Sara Z. Duterte in the National Teachers’ Month program at the Panaad Park and Stadium on Friday afternoon. She then met with representatives of various sectors in a consultation at the L’Fisher Hotel in Bacolod City.
House Bill 7355, creating the NIR, was passed by the House of Representatives in March.
The NIR shall comprise the cities, municipalities, and barangays in Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, and the island province of Siquijor.
The Senate Committee on Local Government has also approved Senate Bill 1236, authored by Senator JV Ejercito, seeking to create the NIR to boost the efficiency of the delivery of government services and provide convenience for the region’s residents in line with the administration’s goal of rightsizing.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, during his visit to Negros Occidental last month, pledged to see the passage of the NIR bill by December.
“We’re hoping to do the second reading before (the) end of September. At the very latest, it would be passed into law before Christmas. (It will be) our Christmas gift to the region, as long as it will not be vetoed,” he added. (PNA)/PN
