Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo has confirmed receipt of a letter from Budget Sec. Ben Diokno that the composition of the Negros Island Region will be on a status quo basis.
As a result, their respective budgets will be from Region 7 for Negros Oriental and Region 6 for Negros Occidental.
The letter, which Gov. Degamo said on Tuesday that he received last week, was in reference to the joint appeal for retention of NIR coming from the two governors, other officials, leaders of civil society organizations and business groups.
The joint appeal assured President Duterte that NIR will not incur additional costs to the national government and that regional officials will be able to effectively function within its budget.
It also said that NIR will level the playing field in developing the Visayas regions and accelerate its transformation as a showcase of socio economic progress thereby encouraging reverse migration and decongestion of Metro Manila.
Secretary Diokno stressed that while the national government has acknowledged such presentation, forming the NIR administrative region at this time may not be timely in the pursuit of the federal government being advocated by President Duterte even as such will require a huge budget for it to be fully operational.
Diokno in his letter said the matter on whether or not to retain the NIR still rests with the President. (PNA/JFP/Juancho Gallarde)
