About 70 percent of the national government departments have already established their Negros Island Region offices, Interior and Local Government NIR Assistant Regional Director Teodora Sumagaysay said on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
The Philippine National Police NIR office is also set to be established at Camp Alfredo Montelibano Sr. in Bacolod City soon.
The NIR if now officially operational with the publication of its Implementing Rules and Regulations in the Official Gazette, she said.
The NIR regional offices are currently getting their operating budgets from their counterpart offices in Regions 6 and 7.
The funds specifically for the NIR offices will be included in the 2026 national budget.
Sumagaysay said the DILG NIR office is now 80 percent operational. It is not yet fully independent because there are still programs that are being channeled through Region 6 and Region 7, she explained.*