Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri has pledged to see through the passage of the Negros Island Region (NIR) bill in the Upper Chamber by December this year. “I committed that before we go on a break in October, we will be able to at least tackle it, debate on it. We’re hoping to do the second reading before (the) end of September. At the very latest, it would be passed into law before Christmas. Our Christmas gift to the region, as long as it will not be vetoed,” Zubiri said during a press briefing here Saturday. The senator, who traces his roots on the father side to Negros Occidental, said he would talk to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. about the NIR bill as he acknowledged that the Department of Budget of Management is not keen on the creation of more regions and departments. Zubiri said he sees no opposition among his colleagues at the Senate. “As far as I’m concerned, I’ve committed it to the people of Negros, I will pass it in the Senate,” he added. Zubiri said Negros Island has an area and a population, which is more than 4.6 million, large enough to become a region. Governors Eugenio Jose Lacson of Negros Occidental and Manuel Sagarbarria of Negros Oriental have expressed support for the creation of the NIR. In the Senate, the committee on local government has initially approved Senate Bill 1236, authored by Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito, seeking to create the NIR to boost the efficiency of the delivery of government services and provide convenience for the region’s residents in line with the administration’s goal of rightsizing. Last March, House Bill 7355, creating the NIR, was passed on the third and final reading in the House of Representatives. Titled “An Act Establishing the NIR, and Appropriating Funds Therefor,” it provides that the NIR shall be composed of the cities, municipalities and barangays in Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental and the island province of Siquijor. During his weekend visit here, Zubiri inspected the ongoing construction of two key infrastructure projects funded through his initiative. These are the Bacolod City Museum in Barangay Alijis and the Bacolod City General Hospital in Barangay Vista Alegre. The museum-auditorium will cost more than PHP400 million when fully completed next year. “We wanted to have a museum where locals and tourists alike can learn about and appreciate the story of Bacolod and our people. This museum-auditorium will also be a place for contemporary and future artists, who continue to enrich our sense of pride and identity here in Bacolod,” the senator said. For the hospital, Zubiri has facilitated the release of PHP400 million from the General Appropriations Act to partly fund its construction. “Bacolod is the most populous city in Western Visayas, and for it to not have its own dedicated tertiary government hospital severely limits the health options of its over half a million residents,” he added

Source: Philippines News Agency