“I think the Negros Island Region (NIR) bill will pass the Senate.”
This was the reaction of Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, who is also the chairman of the Regional Development Council-6, after Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri held a meeting with Senator JV Ejercito, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government; Special Assistant to the President Anton Lagdameo; Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer; Negros Oriental Governor Manuel Sagarbarria and Vice Governor Jaime Reyes in Manila on September 22.
They were also joined by Siquijor Governor Jake Villa via Zoom, who also expressed his support for the inclusion of Siquijor in the NIR.
"We are hoping that the executive branch will also look favorably toward approving the bill,” Benitez said.
He said they already sent their official position about the NIR with the inclusion of the Siquijor.
Zubiri earlier said they are committed to supporting the NIR by merging Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor.
The House committee on appropriations earlier approved the funding provisions for NIR, with the initial budget to be taken from the Department of Interior and Local Government for the purpose of creating a Technical Working Group that will formulate the new region road map.
The proposed NIR will include the provinces of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor.
The TWG will be headed by the Office of the President, with all district representatives of the proposed new region, all governors, and all mayors as members.
The NIR was created under an executive order issued by the late president Benigno Aquino III in 2015. It was abolished through an executive order issued by former president Rodrigo Duterte in 2017.*