• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
There will be no budget for the newly- created Negros Island Region (NIR), composed of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor, in 2025, Senator Imee Marcos said yesterday.
She pointed out that before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the NIR Act into law in June, the 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP) was already prepared, planned and completed.
Next year’s NEP, in the amount of P6.352 trillion, was forwarded by Malacañang to Congress last week for deliberations.
The senator, who was the guest speaker at the Philippine Councilors League-Negros Oriental Chapter assembly in Bacolod City, said the proposed allocation for the NIR in 2025 did not make it to the deadline for budget preparations.
Under the Republic Act 12000 or the NIR Act, a total of P3.6 billion, spread out over three years, has been allocated to establish the regional offices.
“While the P1.2 billion budget for each year, within a period of three years, is embedded in the law, it is nowhere to be found in the proposed 2025 budget,” Marcos said.
She added that she already initially discussed the matter with Negros Oriental Gov. Manuel Sagarbarria and Negros Occidental Vice. Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer, who also attended the PCL- Negros Oriental event at the SMX Convention Center in Bacolod City.
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 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 the most important departments, both in Bacolod and Dumaguete cities,” Marcos said. “I am hopeful that we can discuss it with the President”.
Marcos said that she will also solicit the opinion of government financial managers.
In the previous NIR created only through an executive order, the existing budget of the national government offices in Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental were initially utilized for the new region to be operationalized.
Marcos also discussed the possibility of scrutinizing the existing budget and discretionary funds of Western Visayas and Central Visayas regional offices, where Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor used to belong, respectively.
Sagarbarria said that the non-inclusion of the NIR budget for 2025 is among the “birth pains” of a new region.
“I know it’s not going to be instant, but I hope the budget will really come since the P1.2 billion for each year is included in the law,” he added.
During the transition period, which may take two to three years, he expects more programs and economic development in the entire region.
“It’s practically all positive,” Sagarbarria said.
Ferrer said that there is nothing to worry as the Marcos administration will not abandon its commitment to the NIR, and Senator Marcos and the Negros legislators will find means to address the budget concerns.
The senator said that the original timeline to make NIR operational is after the midterm elections next year, with full operationalization two years after. | GB
