VISIT. Senator Imee Marcos (right) is greeted by women in Silay City, Negros Occidental during her visit on Thursday (March 9, 2023). She distributed PHP3,000 cash assistance each to 1,000 disadvantaged women in the city and wheelchairs to female persons with disabilities. (Photo courtesy of Senator Imee R. Marcos Facebook page)
BACOLOD CITY – Senator Imee Marcos said here on Thursday she is still studying the proposed measure for the creation of the Negros Island Region (NIR) but believes it is good for the Negrenses "to stick together and have a louder voice."
"I haven't studied it completely but I've heard so much about it already. I don't think I'm in the position to say yes or no right now simply because I haven't studied it carefully," she told reporters during an interview in Talisay City.
"But it sounds like a good idea quite frankly. In this day and age you really have to group together to be able to negotiate better for goods and services from the government," she added.
In the Senate, the committee on local government 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.
"Perhaps it's a good opportunity for this bill for the Negrenses to stick together and have a louder voice in sugar, in the division of infrastructure, and in the efforts of the government to extend safety nets to the poorer and marginalized sectors. It's always a good idea to be united and speak with a louder voice," Marcos said.
Earlier this week, the House of Representatives unanimously passed on the third and final reading House Bill (HB) 7355, creating the NIR.
Titled "An Act Establishing the NIR, and Appropriating Funds Therefor," HB 7355 provides that the NIR shall be composed of the cities, municipalities, and barangays in Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, and the island province of Siquijor.
Under the current setup, Negros Occidental and Bacolod City belong to Western Visayas or Region 6 while Negros Oriental and Siquijor are part of Central Visayas or Region 7.
Marcos arrived in Negros Occidental on Thursday to distribute cash assistance of PHP3,000 each to 2,000 disadvantaged women in the cities of Kabankalan and Silay from the Department of Social Welfare and Development's Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation Program.
In Bacolod, some 1,000 women also received the same financial assistance. (PNA)
