By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Negros Oriental Governor Manuel “Chaco” Sagarbarria has requested the Commission on Elections and the Department of Budget and Management to establish regional offices in the province once the Negros Island Region (NIR) is revived.

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said, under the initial plan, the government officials intended to just follow the establishment of regional offices for NIR.

However, after a few discussions, they reconsidered and promptly approved setting up regional offices of the two agencies in Negros Oriental.

Instead of establishing regional offices for the Department of Health and the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Negros Occidental, the governor mentioned that the health sector was pleased with this decision.

Both Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental have settled on a list of government agency locations, with Siquijor’s agreement.

Lacson expressed hope that House Bill 7355, which seeks to revive NIR, would further advance in the Senate due to the support from both political parties.

The bill hurdled the House of Representatives earlier this year.

Under the new bill, Siquijor island will also be included in the NIR.

In September, the governors of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor met with Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senator Joseph “JV” Ejercito for the revival of NIR.

“We are committed to bringing the government closer to our people, which is why we support reestablishing the NIR,” Zubiri said after the meeting.

He highlighted that the current administrative setup for the three provinces poses challenges for the public in accessing government services.

The NIR would do away the need for residents to cross to Iloilo or Cebu provinces./DGB, WDJ