- GILBERT BAYORAN
The creation of the Negros Island Region is inching towards its realization, as the Senate Committee on Local Government, chaired by Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, approved several bills seeking the establishment of a new region in the Visayas.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, Ejercito, who is also the Senate deputy majority leader, and senators Bong Revilla, Sherwin Gatchalian, and Lito Lapid sponsored separate bills creating the NIR.
Ejercito, who presided over the committee hearing Dec. 5, said there is a strong clamor for NIR, as its establishment will fast track the delivery of government services and will bring the national government closer to the people.
While rightsizing is a priority of the current administration, Ejercito, whose mother hails from Negros Occidental, said these bills are necessary to boost the efficiency of service delivery in the area and provide convenience for the region’s residents.
The bills include Ejercito’s Senate Bill 1236, Zubiri’s SB 89, Gatchalian’s SB 812, Revilla’s SB 1422, and Lapid’s SB 1469.
Zubiri, whose father hails from Kabankalan City, said the government of Siquijor also expressed intention to join the new region.
Negros Occidental 3rd District Rep. Jose Francisco Benitez has included Siquijor in his sponsored NIR bill, which is now being consolidated with similar bills filed by Negros Island solons in the House of Representatives.
Zubiri also stressed during the hearing that there is a growing clamor for the establishment of the NIR, since residents of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental still have to travel to either Iloilo or Cebu to transact with the regional offices of national government agencies.
“It’s the ease of doing business for government transactions. Kung cost lang, nagawa na. May buildings na po. I don’t think it’s going to cost us more to revive the NIR, because it has been done for several years,” Zubiri said.
Meanwhile, Majority Floor Leader Joel Villanueva vowed to schedule the bills for second reading “as soon as the committee report reaches his office.”
In 2015, the NIR was established through Executive Order No. 183, but was abolished in 2017 through EO 38./GB
