• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental Sixth District Rep. Mercedes Alvarez said on Monday, Sept. 2, that the required procedures have been strictly followed in the formulation and the approval of Republic Act 12000 or the Negros Island Region (NIR) Act.
“We followed all the procedures. There is no need for a plebiscite because we are not creating a new local government unit. It is only the administrative aspect in governance,” Alvarez said.
The NIR Act, which was signed into law by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in June, forms an administrative region comprising the provinces of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.
A group led by Rev. Fr. Hendrix Alar filed a petition for the issuance of a temporary restraining order from the Supreme Court (SC), claiming that the creation of NIR was illegal, as it was not submitted to the people through a plebiscite, nor was a public consultation held.
Alvarez said that the purpose of creating the NIR is more of efficiently bringing services from the national government to the people.
While she believes it is the right of the petitioners to question it before the SC, she would rather want people to give a chance to implement the NIR.
Kabankalan City Mayor Benjie Miranda said that if the petitioners believed that there was a violation to the Constitution, it is their right to file a petition before the Supreme Court.
“For me, what is law, is a law,” Miranda said.
Negros Occidental Fifth District Rep. Emilio Bernardino earlier said he believes that there is “no substantial issue to stop the implementation of the NIR.”
The ceremonial signing of NIR Internal Rules and Regulations (IRR) in Siquijor did not push through last week due to the hectic schedules of legislators deliberating the 2025 national budget.
An ad referendum will be held instead, where members of the NIR Technical Working Group (TWG) will be sent copies of the IRR to hasten the process, Alvarez said.
“If everybody in the TWG agrees to what we have agreed during our previous meeting, then we will continue, so that concerned government agencies in NIR may proceed now to their transition plans,” Alvarez said. | GB
