The budget for Negros Island Region is not included in the proposed 2025 National budget, Senator Imee Marcos revealed.
Marcos was in Bacolod City Thursday as a guest speaker during the assembly of the Philippine Councilor's League-Negros Oriental Chapter held at SmX Convention Center.
Marcos explained that before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, signed the NIR into in June this year, Senator Marcos said that the 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP), was already prepared, planned, and completed.
Marcos said she is pushing for skeletal regional offices which would be established after May 2025. elections and that NIR could be fully operational two years later.
However, Negros Occidental Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer said he does not see any problem with the budget because they are banking on the support of Senator Marcos and other lawmakers to allocate the budget for NIR.
Earlier Senator JV Ejercito, one of the major sponsors of NIR at the Senate has also assured that NIR will be allowed a budget. However he said, it would be up to Negros solons to make the first step during budget deliberations at the lower House.
He also said the NIR Law has stipulated a budget of P1.2 billion every year for the first three years.
But Marcos said the budget did not make it to the proposed budget.
What is important she said is that key regional offices would be set up.
The 2025 NEP, in the amount of P6.352 trillion, was forwarded by Malacanang last week to Congress for deliberations.
Marcos added that she already initially discussed it with Sagarbarria and Ferrer about the matter.
Sagarbarria said the provincial government is also providing office spaces for some regional offices.
The NIR technical working group is slated to meet next week, to discuss and formulate the Internal Rules and Regulations, in the implementation of the new Visayas region.
“ We need to come up with a game plan so that we can include it in the (budget) deliberations, even only for skeletal offices of most important departments, both in Bacolod and Dumaguete cities,” Marcos said.
I am hopeful that we can discuss it with PBBM, she added. At the same time, Marcos said she would also solicit the opinion of government financial managers. (TDE)