• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The newly-created Negros Island Region (NIR) has a proposed budget of P105.358 billion in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) for fiscal year 2026, according to the data shared by Negros Occidental Sixth District Rep. Mercedes Alvarez.
Following the creation of the NIR, the separation of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor from Region 6 (Western Visayas) and Region 7 (Central Visayas) will most likely contribute to the reduction in the budget allocations of the two regions, the NEP data showed.
The proposed budget of Region 6 is set at P198.746 billion while for Region 7, at P234.943 billion.
With Negros Occidental now belonging to NIR, the Region 6 budget lowered by 16 percent, which is equivalent to P37.852 billion, compared to its 2025 budget.
Region 7’s budget decreased by 8.41 percent or P21.582 billion.
The proposed fiscal year 2026 NEP is P6.793 trillion. | GB
