By Paulo Loreto Lim

Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon, Jr. recently expressed his confidence the Negros Island Region (NIR) will stay, despite reports quoting Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Benjamin Diokno saying the region is “deemed abolished.”
“[NIR] won’t be abolished because, until now, it’s not yet abolished,” the governor asserted.
“When we started NIR there was no budget,” he explained. “It’s not about money, it’s about development and progress.”
Marañon added, he believes his prayers are more powerful than, what he deemed, “attacks” from the budget secretary.
“Prayer is the most powerful medium,” he insisted.
Earlier, Diokno suggested the establishment of NIR was unconstitutional, to which Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Ismael Sueno said, while he supports the existence of the NIR, has tasked Undersecretary Austere Panadero to research if the DBM secretary is correct./WDJ