The House Committee on Appropriations approved the funding provisions for the proposed Negros Island Region (NIR) on Wednesday, February 22, Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said.
“This is a momentous step in the right direction as the bill moves further in the legislative mill, a step closer to realizing our dream of creating a Negros Island Region,” he said.
Rep. Mercedes Alvarez (Neg. Occ., 6th District) said with the Appropriations Committee’s approval, an initial appropriation will be taken from the Department of the Interior and Local Government budget in order to create a technical working group that will formulate the roadmap of the NIR.
The proposed new region will be composed of Negros and Siquijor islands.
The bill will return to the Committee on Local Government for a final committee report then to second reading on the plenary floor, Benitez said.*