The Negros Island Region (NIR) Roadmap, which will lay the foundation and set the direction and vision for the newly established region, is now taking shape.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), in coordination with the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev)-NIR, led the consultation with stakeholders for the finalization of the NIR roadmap held at the Nature’s Village Resort and Hotel in Negros Occidental.
According to DEPDev, the NIR Regional Development Plan is set to be completed by the end of 2025, which is an integral input to the NIR Roadmap.
As to the status of the regional bodies for NIR, the Regional Development Council already has an interim council with five sectoral committees organized, namely, economic sector, environment sector, development administration, social sector, and infrastructure sector.
President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has already appointed Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson as chairperson of the Regional Peace and Order Council, which is yet to reconstitute this third quarter of the year.
This month, the full council and the four Committees of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council will be organized, while its interim council has already been established.
During the consultation, DEPDev presented the proposed contents of the roadmap to include the administrative requirements like the establishment of regional offices as well as policies; the institutional requirements which is the creation of regional bodies and coordination mechanisms among local government units (LGUs) and other stakeholders and capacity building for regional agencies, LGUs and other stakeholders; the development plan enumerating the vision, medium-term goals and objectives, programs and projects; and, the monitoring and reporting mechanism.
As to the timeline in the establishment of NIR offices, at the end of this year, transitional offices are expected to be established.
In 2026, the barest minimum plantilla with funding as proposed in the National Expenditure Program must be in place, and in 2027, NIR offices will be in full operationalization.
The Department of Budget and Management issued Circular Letter No. 2025-3 last February 18, 2025 which sets the guidelines prescribing the organizational structure, staffing pattern, and funding requirements of the offices in the NIR, the legal basis of which is Section 11 of the implementing rules and regulations of the Republic Act No. 12000 (NIR Act). (PIA-6 Negros Occidental)