BACOLOD CITY - The House committee on local government has formed a technical working group (TWG) that will consolidate the bills seeking the creation of the Negros Island Region (NIR). The development came Tuesday after the body conducted initial deliberations on the three proposed legislations. "The TWG was created to consolidate similar bills and address questions," said Negros Occidental Third District Rep. Jose Franciso Benitez, who mainly authored House Bill (HB) 1446, in a statement on Tuesday night. Negros Occidental Sixth District Rep. Mercedes Alvarez and Cebu City South District Rep. Eduardo Rama Jr. have been tasked to head the TWG that will tackle issues on the inclusion of Siquijor, which is included in HB 1446 only, and the mode of determining the location of the regional offices. Aside from Benitez, whose bill is titled "An Act Creating Region 6-B and For Other Purposes", two other lawmakers from Negros Occidental, Second District Rep. Alfredo Marano