By Glazyl M. Jopson
BACOLOD CITY — The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) aims to strengthen partnerships between Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor to drive collective economic growth for the Negros Island Region (NIR).
NEDA-NIR concurrent officer-in-charge Regional Director Arecio Casing Jr. highlighted the challenge of rebuilding economic development in the new region. While Central Visayas remains a strong regional economy, he said NIR seeks to harness growth from Negros Occidental and benefit from spillover effects from neighboring regions.
“Our challenge is to create synergy between these provinces,” Casing said.
As part of the transition to the new region, Carlos Hilado Memorial State University (CHMSU) announced that its Alijis Campus will host NEDA’s NIR office. The office is located in Room 101 of CHMSU’s Academic Building 1 in Barangay Alijis.
CHMSU President Norberto Mangulabnan and Casing formalized the usufruct agreement, designating the campus as NEDA’s temporary headquarters, during a signing ceremony on Feb. 6.
Mangulabnan welcomed NEDA to the campus and assured them of CHMSU’s support. “We have to help each other in one way or another, especially now that we have a new region. Treat this place as your new home in NIR,” he said.
NEDA Undersecretary Carlos Bernardo Abad Santos expressed gratitude to CHMSU for its collaboration, emphasizing the importance of government-academe partnerships in ensuring the successful operation of regional offices.
Meanwhile, Bacolod Mayor Alfredo “Albee” Benitez said in a recent media interview that it is NEDA’s responsibility to establish an office for its department.
Benitez added that a meeting with Western Visayas (Region 6) officials is scheduled for Feb. 13, as NIR offices are currently under the supervision of an officer-in-charge.
With NIR set to become official on Feb. 18, Benitez said he expects all department heads to be fully operational by then.