• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Noting that majority of big ticket projects are in Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental Gov. Manuel “Chaco” Sagarbarria, the chair of the Regional Development Council – Negros Island Region, said they are hoping to balance out the projects in the region, starting next year.
Sagabarria, who presided over the 4th Quarter RDC-NIR Full Council Meeting on Thursday in Bacolod City, admitted that 30 top infrastructure projects in the region are located in Negros Occidental.
He cited Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridge (PGN) and Negros Occidental Economic Highway, among others.
Sagarbarria also disclosed that the bulk of the budget is in the Negros Occidental side, including the improvement of hospitals, infrastructure projects, and farm to market roads, “which is understandable because it is the biggest among the three provinces.”
Edward Du, RDC infrastructure Development Committee chairperson of RDC-NIR, reported that the Negros Occidental Economic Highway is now 58.88 percent complete, while the detailed engineering design of the PGN is also at 96.22 percent completion.
Negros Oriental 3rd district Representative Janice Degamo also presented the proposed District Safety Surveillance Program, which would involve installing CCTV systems to improve public safety, deter crime, and enhance law enforcement capabilities.
The proposed program would include installing high-definition, weatherproof, and night-vision-enabled CCTV cameras in strategic locations and establishing a district command center to monitor the feeds.
The proposal of Degamo was endorsed by RDC-NIR to the national government for budget appropriations.*
