The transition of Negros Oriental and Negros Oriental towards the Negros Island Region is expected to be boosted soon.
President Benigno Aquino III issued Memorandum Circular Number 81 last week, directing national agencies to help in the transition to the new Region.
In the Circular, all heads of national government agencies were ordered “to extend their full assistance in the transition to the Negros Island Region,” which included the establishment of regional offices and the designation of interim regional directors not later than October 1, 2015.
In accordance with the guidelines issued by the Department of Budget and Management, the interim regional offices shall be located in either Dumaguete City or Bacolod City, until such time that the regional center is developed.
The Negros Island Region was created by President Aquino through Executive Order 183. It separated Negros Occidental from Western Visayas or Region VI, and Negros Oriental from Central Visayas or Region VII.
The order also created the NIR-Technical Working Group (TWG), which composed the Office of the President, the Department of Budget and Management, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and representatives of the two provinces.
The NIR-TWG was tasked to arrange the requirements for organizational development, staffing, and budgeting of regional line and regulatory agencies.
The EO also ordered the formation of regional councils and designated NEDA as interim secretariat of Negros Island Development Council; the DILG as secretariat of the Negros Island Peace and Order Council; and the Office of Civil Defense as secretariat of the the Negros Island Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
Negros Oriental will temporarily have 16 regional offices while Negros Occidental will have at least 14 regional offices.
Line agencies picked by Negros Oriental are Technical Education and Skills Development Authority; Department of Education; Department of Social Welfare and Development; Department of Health; Commission on Higher Education; Civil Service Commission; Philippine Statistics Authority; Professional Regulation Commission; Department of Public Works and Highways; Department of Transportation and Communications and attached agencies, including Land Transportation Office, Maritime Industry Authority, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, and National Telecommunications Commissions; Department of Labor and Employment; Department of Trade and Industry; Department of Tourism; Department of Science and Technology; Securities and Exchange Commission.
Regional offices under Negros Occidental are Department of Agriculture; Department of Environment and Natural Resources; Department of Agrarian Reform; Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board; Department of Justice and attached agencies, including National Bureau of Investigation; Department of the Interior and Local Government and attached agencies, including Bureau of Fire, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Philippine National Police; Department of National Defense and Office of Civil Defense; Department of Budget and Management; Department of Finance; National Economic and Development Authority; Commission on Audit; Commission on Elections.
