President Marcos will most likely sign the Negros Island Region (NIR) Act, creating a region composed of Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor, to decentralize access to government services.
President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. (2nd right) leads the ceremonial energization of the Cebu-Negros-Panay 230-kV Backbone Project in Bacolod City on Monday, April 8, 2024. (Photo from the Presidential Communications Office)
In a media interview in Bacolod City, the Chief Executive said the enactment “makes sense” because Negrenses have had a hard time accessing government services because there is no existing regional center in their provinces.
“That's the reason behind the push for making it a single region so that may regional office siya na sarili (so they’ll have their own regional office). I think I will sign it,” he told reporters.
Noting that “it's very hard to bring government services to the people,” Marcos, who led the ceremonial energization of the Cebu-Negros-Panay sub-grids in Bacolod, stressed the need to fix the problem.
“So, kailangan talagang maayos 'yan. Matagal nang problema 'yan (that needs to be fixed. That has long been a problem),” he added.
Last month, senators unanimously approved Senate Bill No. 2507, creating the NIR to promote administrative decentralization and strengthen local autonomy to accelerate cultural and social development of the region.
According to Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, residents of Negros Occidental, who have transactions with national government agencies, get stuck sometimes in Iloilo because of the rough weather.
This is also experienced by residents of Negros Oriental and Siquijor who have to go to Cebu City for government transactions.
Once enacted into law, the NIR Act shall create a technical working group (TWG) composed of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) as the secretariat, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the representative of the Office of the Governor of the provinces, and the representatives from all elected members of the House of Representatives of the provinces.