NIR Solons to Push for Negros Fed State
by Eugene Adiong on Fri, 10/14/2016
Silay City - Congressmen in Negros Island Region will push for a Negros Island Federal State if moves for a shift to federalism will materialize, Rep. Alfredo Benitez (3rd district) said.
Benitez, who held his State of the District Report in this city’s Civic Center, said that he believes that President Rodrigo Duterte is “holding in abeyance the full implementation of the NIR.”
All the district congressmen and party list representatives who hails from Negros will definitely be supporting the inclusion of the NIR as one of the federal states.
He is not dissolving it but waiting for the moves for the Philippines to shift to a federal form of government, he said.
Benitez’ reaction comes on the heels of reports from Budget Sec. Benjamin Diokno that the signing of the Executive Order revoking EO 183 that created NIR “is a done deal.”
In reply to insinuations that political leaders in the island joined the ruling PDP-Laban as a concession to retain the NIR, he said that “joining a party and forcing what you want are different.”
He also said that the projects will still pour for the island “even if the NIR is dissolved.”
“If there is no regional center, it does not mean that there will be no more projects especially for infrastructure,” Benitez said.
“We can have employees taken from the mother regions and assign them here instead of hiring more personnel,” he said.*
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@senso for A BETTER BACOLOD
Ang isa sa akon mga handom para sa Bacolod.
Ako ang kapitan sg sini nga barko. Indi ini magkadto sa wala ukon sa tuo, kundi derecho sa direksyon sang pagbag-o sang gobyerno para sa kaayuhan sang Bacolodnon.
