By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Negros Island Region (NIR) was again excluded by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in the proposed 2018 national budget, according to Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary for Public Safety Jesus Hinlo, Jr., yesterday.
With an impending order reassigning Hinlo as a top Landbank of the Philippines official, the DILG official said he will seek the assistance from the Departments of Agriculture, Labor and Employment, Finance, and Agrarian Reform to push for the retention of NIR.
“I have already submitted a memorandum to the president campaigning for the continued existence of the NIR,” Hinlo said. “We have done our best.”
Last week, Bacolod Lone District Rep. Greg Gasataya said the Negros Bloc already vowed to push for the inclusion of NIR in the 2018 national budget.
House of Representatives budget hearings begin today and run until August 3.
The legislative body plans to pass the 2018 national budget to the Senate by August 24./WDJ