INSPECTION. Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri (right), with Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez (center) and Lone District Rep. Greg Gasataya (left), inspects the ongoing construction of the Bacolod City Museum in Barangay Alijis on Saturday (Aug. 12, 2023). Funded through his initiative, the museum-auditorium is slated to be completed next year. (PNA photo by Nanette L. Guadalquiver)
Cesafinews | The NIR measure will be passed by the Senate leadership in December | BACOLOD CITY – The Negros Island Region (NIR) law will be passed by the Upper Chamber by December of this year, according to Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri.
“I promised that before our October break, we would be able to at least discuss it and tackle it. Before (the) end of September, we hope to do the second reading. It would be signed into law as soon as possible after Thanksgiving. If not vetoed, this will be our Christmas gift to the area, Zubiri remarked at a press conference held here on Saturday.
The senator recognised that the Department of Budget and Management is not enthusiastic about the creation of more regions and departments. The senator, whose ancestry on the father’s side is from Negros Occidental, said he would speak with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. about the NIR bill.
There is no opposition, according to Zubiri, among his Senate colleagues.
He continued, “As for me, I’ve promised it to the people of Negros, I’ll pass it in the Senate.
Negros Island, according to Zubiri, has a region-sized territory and a population of more than 4.6 million people.
The NIR has received backing from both Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental governors, Eugenio Jose Lacson and Manuel Sagarbarria.
Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito’s Senate Bill 1236, which aims to establish the NIR in order to improve the effectiveness of the provision of public services and make life easier for the local population in line with the administration’s goal of rightsizing, has received initial approval from the Senate’s committee on local government.
The NIR was established by House Bill 7355, which was approved by the House of Representatives on its third and final reading in March of last year.
Known as “An Act Establishing the NIR, and Appropriating Funds Therefor,” it stipulates that the cities, municipalities, and barangays of Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, and the island province of Siquijor shall make up the NIR.
Zubiri paid a weekend visit here and observed the development of two significant infrastructure projects financed by his initiative.
Both the Bacolod City Museum and the Bacolod City General Hospital are located in Barangay Vista Alegre, respectively.
When completed entirely the following year, the museum-auditorium will cost more over PHP400 million.
“We desired to build a museum where both residents and visitors may study and appreciate the history of Bacolod and our people. Contemporary and upcoming artists, who continue to enhance our feeling of pride and identity here in Bacolod, will also have a space to exhibit their work in this museum-auditorium, the senator said.
Zubiri oversaw the release of PHP400 million from the General Appropriations Act for the hospital, helping to partially finance its construction.
He continued, “Bacolod is the most populous city in Western Visayas, and its lack of a dedicated tertiary government hospital severely restricts the health options of its over 500,000 residents.”(via PNA)
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