• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental 5th district Representative Emilio Bernardino Yulo yesterday said that the Negros Island Region budget allocations for 2025 is expected to be discussed during the meeting of NIR Technical Working Group on August 9.
The P6.3 trillion proposed budget for 2025 has already been transmitted by Malacañang to Congress, which does not include the budget of NIR for next year.
As budget deliberations kick off at the House of Representatives, Yulo said “we will look for ways to fund it,” stressing also “what is important is we hit the ground running for NIR.”
The Negros solon said that national budget for 2025, also known as the National Expenditure Program, was already completed before the signing of RA 12000, known as the NIR Act, into law by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
That is why we have to work on that, Yulo said.
Under RA 12000, a total of P3.6 billion, spread out over three years, has been allocated to establish regional offices for NIR.
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson earlier said he is banking on the NIR and Siquijor solons to convince the national government to include the NIR budget for 2025.
The NIR technical working group, composed of three NIR governors and its solons, as well as representatives of the Department of Interior and Local Government, National Economic Development Authority, and the Department of Budget and Management, is slated to meet on August 9 to discuss and formulate the Internal Rules and Regulations in the implementation of the new region in Visayas, among other topics.
Under the old administrative regions, Yulo said provinces of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor have still budgets from Regions 6 and 7, for the operationalization of various national government offices and agencies in their respective areas.
With the presence of the Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Budget and Management, as well as National Economic Development Authority during the TWG meeting, the solon said “We will know how to go about the budget.”
Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, one of the principal authors of NIR Act in the Senate, gave assurances that he and Negros solons will work for the new region to have its budget for next year.*
