Marcos to sign NIR law – Zubiri

SENATE President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri is confident that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will sign the Negros Island Region (NIR) Act.

The proposed NIR Act, one of the priority measures under the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac), proposes to bring the provinces of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor together under one administrative region.

It has the full support of all the district representatives and the local officials of the three provinces.

At present, Negros Occidental belongs to Region 6, while Negros

Oriental and Siquijor are under Region 7, which places their regional centers in Iloilo and Cebu, respectively.

The Senate president, whose paternal roots can be traced to Kabankalan, Negros Occidental, has long been a proponent of the NIR.

“The people of Negros deserve efficient and accessible government services,” he said. “They should not have to travel far at their own cost, crossing by ferry or plane to Iloilo or Cebu, just to transact with our regional government offices.”

The House of Representatives adopted the Senate version of the NIR Act.

“It just has to be transmitted to the President for his signature now,” Zubiri said. “But I am very confident that it will be signed into law soon, and we in the Senate are prepared to push for its proper funding for 2025.”

“I am grateful to all our Negros representatives and to the local officials, headed by Gov. Bong

Lacson, Gov. Chaco Sagarbarria, and Gov. Jake Vincent Villa, who worked with me and Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito as we spearheaded and fine-tuned the bill in the Senate.”

Ejercito said the NIR law will strengthen local autonomy and accelerate the economic, cultural, and social development of the region.

In 2015, the NIR was established through Executive Order (EO) 183. It was later abolished in 2017 through EO 38.