By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Bacolod Lone District Rep. Greg Gasataya said the Negros Bloc vowed to push for a 2018 budget for the Negros Island Region (NIR).
Currently, the congressman said he is unaware if NIR is included in the proposed budget, but assured the issue would be taken up in congressional hearings.
According to Gasataya, the House of Representatives will be conducting budget hearings from August 1 to 3, with plans to pass the 2018 national budget by August 24.
Last year, NIR was not included in the budget, which led to a draft executive order, forwarded by Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Benjamin Diokno to President Rodrigo Duterte, seeking to dissolve the region, claiming maintenance expenditures would cost the national government P19 billion./WDJ