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Sunday, February 12, 2017
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BACOLOD City – Majority of the regional line agencies under the Negros Island Region (NIR) exceeded their targets for 2015 and 2016 despite limited resources.
This was underscored by Negros Island Regional Development Council (NI-RDC) acting secretary Carlo Gabriel Simbajon of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) in a report Friday following the NI-RDC special meeting held at Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay City, Negros Occidental.
This shows that NIR is not only at par with the other regions, but can also deliver outstanding performance, he said.
The NIR was formed through an executive order signed by former president Benigno S. Aquino III on May 29, 2015.
During the meeting, the NI-RDC gathered inputs from various regional directors to strengthen the report on the NIR being prepared by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The agencies that presented their reports were, among others, the DILG, NEDA, Department of Trade and Industry, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Philippine National Police, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture, Department of Science and Technology, and Department of Health.
Negros Occidental Provincial Planning and Development Coordinator Ma. Lina Sanogal said that despite the tight budget and limited resources, the regional offices have more than 100 percent accomplishments and some of them were even named best performing regional offices.
This manifests a successful first year and that budget limitation is not a hindrance for the NIR to continue, she added.
The NIR regional offices source their funding from the previous regions of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental, which are Western Visayas and Central Visayas, respectively, and from their respective central offices.
Sanogal said the regional directors are very much committed to helping fast-track the development of NIR.
DILG secretary Ismael Sueno, who has expressed support to the retention of NIR, had earlier said his agency wants to come up with a comprehensive report about the NIR to convince his fellow Cabinet members to back the new region.
He added that they are getting assistance from the NEDA and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
Sueno clarified though that although the NEDA and the DBM are assisting the DILG in preparing the NIR report, it still does not mean that NEDA director-general Ernesto Pernia and Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno are supporting the NIR.
Both Cabinet officials have expressed opposition to the retention of the NIR. (PNA)
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