BACOLOD CITY – The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) are moving forward with plans to establish their regional offices in the Negros Island Region (NIR) within this bustling city. Recent site inspections have been conducted to finalize the locations for these new offices.
The PNP’s Regional Finance Service Unit (RFSU) is set to occupy a space within Camp Alfredo M. Montelibano Sr., specifically in the former Area Police Command Visayas building. This decision came after a thorough assessment on February 12, led by PNP Finance Service Chief of Staff Col. Dennis Artil, RFSU-Western Visayas Chief Col. Paul Jady Doles, and NOCPPO Director Col. Rainerio De Chavez. The NOCPPO emphasized that the site visit is crucial for ensuring the office space meets the necessary standards for efficient operations and enhancing PNP services in the region.
Col. De Chavez also mentioned that the PRO-NIR headquarters will be temporarily located within the same camp, though no specific opening date has been announced yet.
On the other hand, the DBM is setting up its regional office at the Carlos Hilado Memorial State University (CHMSU) Alijis campus. An ocular inspection was carried out on February 13 by Assistant Director Philip Jeffrey David of the Local Government and Regional Coordination Bureau, with Undersecretary Wilford Will Wong scheduled to visit the site the following day. CHMSU President Norberto Mangulabnan has requested the CHMSU Board of Regents to allocate funds for the DBM office setup.
The CHMSU Alijis Campus already houses the National Economic and Development Authority-NIR office, which was inaugurated on February 6 with a usufruct agreement signed between Mangulabnan and NEDA-NIR officer-in-charge Regional Director Arecio Casing Jr., in the presence of NEDA Undersecretary Carlos Bernardo Abad Santos.
These developments follow the enactment of Republic Act 12000, or the NIR Act, by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in June last year. This law established the NIR, which includes Negros Occidental, Bacolod City, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor, separating them from their previous regions of Western and Central Visayas.