THE possible dissolution of Negros Island Region (NIR), or Region 18, could displace some workers of regional line agencies.
This was confirmed to Sun.Star Bacolod by some regional directors, who said that job order (JO) employees in their respective offices may be affected should President Rodrigo Duterte sign the executive order (EO) abolishing NIR.
If NIR will be dissolved, permanent workers will be recalled to their mother unit while JOs could lose their jobs, they added.
On May 29, 2015, former president Benigno Aquino III signed the EO 183 creating the NIR, which separated Negros Occidental from Western Visayas,
or Region 6, and Negros Oriental from Central Visayas, or Region 7.
Margie Biligan, director of Department of the Interior and Local Government-18, said no new positions were created in their office.
“We didn’t hire new employees. Our personnel came from Regions 6 and 7 and from the central office,” she said.
Biligan said eight JOs, including utility driver and engineers, could be affected.
“We will look into their situation. They have an existing six-month contract with the office,” Biligan said, adding that the JO personnel were hired to augment organic employees.
For his part, Al Orolfo, director of Department of Environment and Natural Resources-18, said that around 55 JO workers could be displaced in their regional office.
He said the JOs they hired were for technical positions like biologists, foresters, engineers, and other science-related course graduates.
Orolfo added that majority of these workers are from Negros Occidental while some are from Negros Oriental.
If the NIR will be dissolved, rank-and-file employees will be assigned back to their previous offices, like in Regions 6 or 7, while senior officials can be transferred anywhere, he added.
Gilbert Sadsad, director of Department of Education-18, said the staff in the regional office will be assigned back to the mother division office should the NIR be abolished.
He said that seven JOs, mostly doing clerical jobs, could be displaced.
The regional director and the assistant regional director will wait for their next assignments if NIR will not continue,Sadsad added.
‘No displacement in PRO-18’
While some personnel in various regional offices in the NIR could be displaced, no worker may be affected in the Police Regional Office-18 (PRO-18) if the region will be abolished.
Chief Inspector Dianne Catedral, PRO-18 public information officer, said that most of the police personnel in the region came from Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) and Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Nocppo) while the staff came from other police regional offices and Camp Crame.
She added that non-uniformed personnel will not be affected by the NIR dissolution because they will still be members of the Philippine National Police.
Catedral said that all personnel will just be recalled to their previous units.
“We will follow whatever is the decision of the higher command,” she said, adding that they would still continue serving the people with or without NIR.