Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Friday, August 2, that he still prefers that all of the regional offices under the Negros Island Region eventually be located in one area.
The NIR law has assigned the regional
offices to Negros Occidental and Oriental for now.
Lacson said the original plan had been to place the NIR regional offices at the border of Kabankalan City in Negros Occidental and Mabinay in Negros Oriental.
The governor said he will discuss the regional offices’ location during the NIR Technical Working Group meeting on August 9 to be convened by Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr.
“That’s basically what I would like to know at the (TWG) meeting,” Lacson said.
Kabankalan Mayor Benjie Miranda said 500 hectares have been earmarked at the Central Philippine State University in Kabankalan City for a NIR regional center.
Miranda said he is excited for Kabakalan, because about 12 of national agencies have inquired about setting up their NIR regional offices in his city.
Among the agencies who have made inquiries are the National Bureau of Investigation, Department of Agriculture, Department of Agrarian Reform, National Food Authority, and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, he said.*