• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Majority of the governors and the legislators of the Negros Island Region (NIR) have signed the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the NIR Act amid the reservations of Negros Occidental Sixth Rep. Mercedes Alvarez and those in Siquijor.
In the presence of Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) central office Director Dennis Villaseñor and OIC-Assistant Regional Director Teodora Sumagaysay, Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson signed the IRR with Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II as the witness.
Those who already signed the document were Negros Oriental Gov. Manuel Sagarbarria, Second District Rep. Manuel Sagarbarria and First District Rep. Jocelyn Limkaichong as well as Negros Occidental First District Rep. Gerardo Valmayor, Second District Rep. Alfredo Marañon III, Fourth District Rep. Juliet Marie Ferrer, Fifth District Rep. Emilio Bernardino Yulo, and Bacolod City Lone District Rep. Greg Gasataya.
Others who also affixed their signatures included DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr., Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, and National Economic Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.
However, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has removed a provision in the IRR for the establishment of satellite offices of national government agencies, which was approved by the technical working group (TWG), composed of the NIR legislators and governors during a meeting held at Camp Crame in Quezon City.
While she did not yet sign the IRR, Alvarez said that she sent a letter to the DILG, asking to reinstate such provision in the IRR.
She said though that for expediency purposes, she will not insist on it anymore as it may cause the delay in the operationalization of the NIR.
Lacson said the concerns of Alvarez could be raised later.
“I think that is one of the contentions also of Siquijor. We can raise that issue again,” he added.
Siquijor Gov. Jake Vincent Villa and Lone District Rep. Zaldy, Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, and Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez also have yet to sign the IRR.
As stipulated in the IRR of Republic Act 12000, regional offices of the Departments of Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources, Agrarian Reform, Human Settlements and Urban Development, Justice, Interior and Local Government, Defense, Budget and Management, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Philippine National Police as well as Commissions on Election and Audit will be established in Negros Occidental.
Negros Oriental will host the regional offices of the Departments of Education, Social Welfare and Development, Health, Labor and Employment, Public Works and Highways, Transportation, Energy, Information and Communications Technology, Trade and Industry, Tourism, Science and Technology, Securities and Exchange Commission, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Commission on Higher Education, Civil Service Commission and Philippine Statistics Authority.
As to the funding, the IRR states that the amounts necessary to carry out all provisions of the NIR Act shall be charged against the current year’s appropriations of agencies concerned, subject to available, budgeting, accounting and auditing laws, rules and regulations.
Thereafter, the amounts needed for the continuous implementation of the NIR Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act subject to the usual budget process, it added.
All government agencies are required to submit their transition plans to the NIR TWG for inclusion in the formulation of the NIR road map within 90 days after the IRR effectivity.
The existing regional or appropriate level offices in Western Visayas and Central Visayas have been also required to provide assistance in facilitating the initial operations of the NIR until such time that the necessary NIR offices are established. | GB
