• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Following approval of the creation of the Negros Island Region, Negros Occidental Rep. Emilio Bernardino Yulo is hopeful that the new administrative region will be fully operational in 2025.
“We can hope that by 2025, we can hit the ground running, with the passage of the 2025 General Appropriations Act, within that year will include the budget appropriations for NIR,” said Yulo, who is among the Negros and Siquijor solons that pushed for the creation of the new region in Congress.
After its signing into law, Yulo said a Technical Working Group, which will be composed of the different government agencies, to be led by the Departments of Interior and Local Government, Budget and Management, as the National Economic Development Authority, the governors of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor, as well as lawmakers.
In a statement, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero said the NIR creation “marks a significant milestone in our efforts to promote administrative decentralization and strengthen local autonomy.”
Escudero said the Technical Working Group will develop a roadmap for the region’s development.
The NIR-TWG is expected to formulate a roadmap to put in place the institutional arrangements for the NIR; recommend to the Office of the President the location of the preferred Regional Center; arrange the requirements for organizational development, staffing, and budgeting of regional line and regulatory agencies, as well as the imperatives for development planning and investment programming.
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said that the focus now should be on the formulation of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR).
“The formulation of the IRR is the priority now, and we expect DILG to work on this soon,” Lacson said.*
