The House Committee on Local Government approved a substitute bill seeking the creation of the Negros Island Region (NIR), which will include Siquijor, on Tuesday, January 10, Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said.

The bill was introduced by Benitez and Negros Occidental representatives Gerardo Valmayor Jr. – 1st District, Alfredo Marañon III – 2nd District, Juliet Marie Ferrer – 4th District, Emilio Bernardino Yulo – 5th District and Mercedes Alvarez – 6th District, Greg Gasataya – Bacolod and Joseph Stephen Paduano – Abang Lingkod Partylist.

The bill states that the Negros Island Region would be composed of Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, Bacolod City and Siquijor.

Representatives of the Office of the President (OP) , Department of Budget and Management, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), offices of the governors of Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental and Siquijor, Bacolod City, and all the elected members of the House of Representatives will form a Technical Working Group (TWG), the bill said.

The TWG will formulate a roadmap to put in place the institutional arrangements for the NIR, recommend to the OP the preferred regional center, arrange the requirements for the organizational development, staffing, and budgeting of regional line and regulatory agencies, as well as the imperatives for the development planning and investment programming, the bill added.

To ensure the smooth transition of basic services, the DILG will be designated as the secretariat until the TWG has completed its task, it said.

The final report and recommendation of the TWG will be approved by the President, who would have the final say, it added.

The bill directs all departments, bureaus, offices, agencies, and instrumentalities of the national government, including government-owned or controlled corporations and government financial institutions, to extend full assistance to the NIR-TWG in support of its functions and activities.
The amount necessary to implement this Act, including the cost for the conduct of the NIR-TW, will be charged against the current budget of the implementing agencies, it added.

The funds necessary for the continued implementation of the NIR shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act, it said.*