Rep. Mercedes Alvarez (Neg. Occ., 6th District) is optimistic the substitute bill seeking the creation of the Negros Island Region (NIR), which will include Siquijor, will be approved by Congress.
The bill that states that the Negros Island Region would be composed of Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, Bacolod City and Siquijor was approved by the House Committee on Local Government on Tuesday, January 10, Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said.
Alvarez said the bill will then have to be approved by the House Committee on Appropriations, before moving to plenary debate for second reading and nominal voting for approval on third reading.
The senators are waiting for the Lower House to approve the bill so they can move their counterpart measure, she said.
When the bills of the Lower House and Senate are reconciled they will be sent to the president. She was told the president is supportive of the NIR creation so he is likely to sign the bill into law, Alvarez said.
Alvarez said she is not sure if they will be able to approve the bill this year since a technical working group still has to be created, but it may happen next year.
She said they have not received the written position paper of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo who is against the creation of the NIR. It would have been nice if he submitted his position paper during the committee hearings, she said.
Alvarez pointed out that the three Negros Oriental representatives are co-authors of the bill seeking the creation of the NIR and it will be the members of Congress who will vote on its passage.
She said there are many advantages to the creation of the NIR, including coordinated actions to address climate change.
The substitute bill states that representative of the Office of the President (OP), Department of Budget and Management, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), offices of the governors of Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental and Siquijor, Bacolod City, and all the elected members of the House of the Representatives will form a Technical Working Group (TWG).
The TWG will formulate a roadmap to put in place the institutional arrangements for the NIR, recommend to the OP the preferred regional center, arrange the requirements for the organizational development, staffing, and budgeting of regional line and regulatory agencies, as well as the imperatives for the development planning and investment programming, the bill added.
To ensure the smooth transition of basic services, the DILG will be designated as the secretariat until the TWG has completed its task, it said.
The final report and recommendation of the TWG will be approved by the President, who would have the last say, it added.*