• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Negros Island Region (NIR) bill is up for transmittal to Malacañang next month for signing into law by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Negros Occidental 6th District Rep. Mercedes Alvarez said on March 23 (Saturday).
Alvarez, who is a member of the NIR Technical Working Group, said that there is no need for the bill to pass through the bicameral conference committee since the House of Representatives already adopted the version of the Senate.
The establishment of the NIR is among the 42 priority legislative measures identified by the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC), which is chaired by the President.
During the last LEDAC meeting, there was no opposition to the approval of NIR bill by Congress, Alvarez said.
The proposed new region will compose the provinces of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri earlier said that the NIR bill is sure to get the signature of the President as part of his administration’s priority measures.
“But I am very confident that it will be signed into law soon, and we in the Senate are prepared to push for its proper funding for 2025,” Zubiri said in a statement.
As stipulated in the Senate version, which was adopted by the Lower House, Alvarez said that regional offices to be established in Negros Occidental are mostly on sectors of agriculture, security and finance.
She said that she is “very optimistic” the NIR bill will be signed into law by the President before his State of the Nation Address in July. | GB
