NIR TWG to convene this month

The Negros Island Region (NIR) technical working group (TWG) is set to convene in the next two weeks to formulate strategic plans to put in place the institutional arrangements for the new administrative region.

Negros Occidental 5th District Rep. Emilio Bernardino Yulo said the district representatives have already received an invitation from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to convene the TWG.

“We still have to arrange our schedules, but we’re looking at Aug. 8 or Aug. 13,” Yulo told the Philippine News Agency.

He said the meeting venue will be in Manila, but the lawmakers are proposing to hold it in Negros instead.

Signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on June 13, 2024, Republic Act 12000 or the NIR Act forms an administrative region comprising Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor.

Under the NIR, Negros Occidental will separate from Western Visayas (Region 6), while Negros Oriental and Siquijor will cease being part of Central Visayas (Region 7).

The law provides for the creation of the Negros Island TWG, composed of representatives from the Office of the President, DILG, Department of Budget and Management, representatives of the Office of the Governor of the provinces of Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, and Siquijor, and all the elected district representatives of the said provinces, including the representative of Bacolod City.

The TWG has been mandated to formulate strategic plans for the NIR, recommend the preferred location of the regional center to the OP, and arrange the requirements for the organizational development, staffing, and budgeting of regional line and regulatory agencies, among others.* (Nanette Guadalquiver)