"Give it a chance. Allow it to be implemented," Negros Occidental Sixth District Rep. Mercedes Alvarez appealed amid the petition filed before the Supreme Court barring the NIR.
Alvarez said that all we want is for the services of the national government to be more efficient.
She pointed out that NIR is not a new region nor a new government unit.
She added that they did not create new political positions and a new LGU.
"We followed all procedures. No need for a plebiscite. It is only the administrative aspect of government," Alvarez added.
Alvarez is among the 11 solons of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Siqujior who co-authored the creation of NIR, which was signed into law by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in June this year.
On Friday last week, petitioners Rev. Fr. Hendrix Alar, Lina Eparwa, Wilfredo Magallano, Marcelino Maxino, Jose ImaculadoPalmitos, and Grace Sumalpong filed a temporary restraining order from the Supreme Court, claiming that the creation of NIR was illegal, as it was not submitted to the people through a plebiscite, nor was a public consultation held.
The petitioners argued that the NIR must be declared unconstitutional because it runs contrary to the Ordinance appended to the 1987 Constitution. (TDE)