The Technical Working Group (TWG) for Region 18 – better known as Negros Island Region (NIR) – met on Friday, June 19 in Quezon to divide the regional transition offices. The meeting was presided by DILG Secretary Mar Roxas at the Department of Interior and Local Government office in Quezon City. The meeting was attended by delegations of Negros Oriental with by Governor Roel Degamo leading it, and a delegation from Negros Occidental with Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. in the leading position.

Bacolod in Negros Occidental will be home for the following clusters of the NIR Transitional Regional Offices for the new Negros Island Region

Governance Office Cluster

• Department of Finance
• Commission on Audit
• DILG (local governments)
• National Economic Development Authority
• Department of Budget and Management
• Commission of Elections

Agriculture and Land Office Cluster

• Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board
• Department of Agrarian Reform
• Department of Agriculture
• Department of Environment and Natural Resources

Peace and Order/Security Office Cluster

• Office of Civil Defense and the Department of Interior and Local Government
  • Philippine National Police,
  • Bureau of Fire Protection
  • Bureau of Jail Management and Penology
• Department of Justice and its attached agencies.
  • National Bureau of Investigation,
  • Parole and Probation,
  • Prosecutors, etc
• Department of National Defense

Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental will be home for the following clusters of the Transitional Regional Offices for the new Negros Island Region

Infrastructure Office Cluster

• Department of Transportation and Communication (and attached agencies)
• National Telecommunications Commission
• Franchising Regulatory Board
• Department of Public Works and Highways,
• Maritime Industry Authority
• Land Transportation Office

Human Development Office Cluster

• Commission on Higher Education
• Philippine Statistics Authority
• Civil Service Commission
• Professional Regulation Commission
• Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
• Department of Education
• Department of Social Welfare and Development
• Department of Health

Industry and Labor Office Cluster

• Department of Foreign Affairs
• Department of Labor and Employment
• Department of Trade and Industry
• Department of Tourism
• Securities and Exchange Commission
• Department of Science and Technology

Operation of the NIR transitional offices

The NIR transitional offices will be manned (and of course “womenned”) with budget and staff taken from the regional offices of the Central and Western Visayas, where Negros Oriental and Occidental belonged to.

The plan of Roxas targets the 1^st of October 2015 to have the transitional Negros Island Region offices partially and on January 1^st, 2016 fully operational.