Carla P. Gomez

Bacolod Mayor Greg Gasaraya.*Mayor Greg Gasataya said on Friday, May 22, that he strongly condemns any statement, act, or public expression that normalizes, justifies, or makes light of rape and violence against women.Jean Paul C. Generoso, anchorman and Vice President for Administration and Human Resources at K5 News FM Bacolod, has faced widespread backlash after telling a female reporter on-air that he would rape her so he could "go to jail" alongside a father who had recently beaten his child at the Bacolod Public Plaza.“The recent broadcast treating sexual assault as a matter of humor is a failure of empathy and a betrayal of civic trust. The trauma of sexual violence must never be reduced to a punchline,” Gasataya said in a statement posted on his Facebook page.“De...

The Northern Negros Electric Cooperative (NONECO) logged the largest power rate reduction in Negros Occidental for the month of May, posting a significant decrease of ₱2.3868 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).NONECO announced that its overall electricity rate for May dropped to ₱12.0159/kWh, a decline from the ₱14.4027/kWh recorded in April.The Negros Electric and Power Corp. (Negros Power) in central Negros and Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative (Noceco) in southern Negros also earlier announced drops in their power rates for May.Negros Power reduced its May rate to ₱11.38/kWh, marking a decrease of ₱0.86 from April's rate of ₱12.24/kWh.NOCECO announced that its residential rate for May fell to ₱11.45/kWh, which is down by ₱1.76 from the ₱13.21/kWh billed in April.Despit...

Ongoing repair of the 300mm bridge crossing pipe at Araneta Street in Bacolod City near Gaisano City Mall that has affected the water supply of some barangays.*PrimeWater photoAbout 40 percent of the Bacolod City Water District (BACIWA)-PrimeWater consumers are currently suffering from reduced water supply brought on by the ongoing dry spell and pipe leakages, a BACIWA official said Thursday, March 21.The available water supply for the BACIWA-PrimeWater coverage area was 90 million liters per day (MLD) as of May 19—leaving a deficit of 30 MLD, Engr. Michael Soliva, BACIWA OIC manager, said.“The water supply is very unstable,” Soliva said.He explained that the current dry spell is a major factor in the declining water supply, compounded by existing leaks in the pipe netwo...

CHR Commissioner and Spokesperson Beda Epres being interviewed at the Bacolod City Government Center*The families of three of 19 killed in the April 19 encounters in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso, have requested the exhumation of their kin for the conduct of autopsies, a Commission on Human Rights (CHR) official said on Thursday, May 21.The autopsies are being sought to determine where the victims were hit by bullets, which will form part of the CHR investigation.The requests were for the exhumation of the bodies of Errol Wendel, Joros Caramihan, and Labskie Enustacion, CHR Commissioner and Spokesperson Beda Epres said in an interview with reporters at the Bacolod City Government Center.The CHR is waiting for clearance from the Toboso Municipal Health Office for the exhumation...

The Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFOMS) and the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas Negros Occidental Chapter on Thursday, May 21, slammed a rape joke made by a Bacolod radio station anchorman on Wednesday.Rods Palma, K5 News FM Bacolod station manager, said anchorman Jean Paul C. Generoso, who also serves as the network’s Vice President for Administration and Human Resources, has been suspended.Palma, in an interview with GMA News, said, “We promise our listeners that management takes these matters seriously. Whoever commits violations faces sanctions. We already took action and suspended him. We do not tolerate this.”Generoso has been the subject of widespread criticism for telling a female reporter on-air that he would rape her so he could "go to jail" al...

The public hearing on Wednesday.*Residents raised concerns over the possible scarcity of water for agriculture and other needs should the proposed Negros Bulk Water Project at the Malogo River in E.B. Magalona, Negros Occidental, be implemented.The concerns were raised by stakeholders at a public hearing conducted by the Environmental Management Bureau E.B. Magalona on Wednesday, EMB Regional Director Vicente Losbañes said on Thursday, May 21.The Negros Occidental provincial government has applied to source 16 million liters of water per day from the Malogo River for the bulk water project, he said.The provincial government’s study shows that there will be no water shortage caused by the project, Losbañes added.The position of the public on the project will be the po...

Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson*There is nothing wrong with school officials knowing the activities going on among the youth on their campuses, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said Thursday, May 21.Lacson said his call for vigilance was addressed to school administrations.“They should be aware of the activities because there is information that recruitment is going on within school campuses,” he said.The recruitment is not immediately to join the New People’s Army, but it could lead to that, he added.Florence Guzon, Kabataan Partylist Vice President for Visayas, in a statement issued on Wednesday said “We view with grave concern the pronouncement of the governor encouraging the monitoring of student activities on campuses, particularly in state universi...

Bacolod Councilor Celia Flor on Wednesday, May 20, condemned a statement by a radio station anchorman who told a reporter on air that he would rape her so he could go to jail with a father who had beaten his 6-year-old daughter with a stick at the Bacolod City Public Plaza.The anchorman repeatedly used the word "rape" as a joke, which was accompanied by the sound of laughter.Flor, chairperson of the Committee on Women, Gender, Family and Childcare of the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod, said “rape is not a joke.”“I condemn any statement that normalizes rape, harassment of women, and other forms of gender-based sexual harassment, regardless of its context or intent,” Flor said in a statement posted on her Facebook page.The statement “I will rape you so I can go to jail” has n...

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson has placed two provincial government engineers who were former heads of the Silay Oxygen Plant at the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital compound under 60-day preventive suspensions without pay.They are facing formal charges for misconduct, gross neglect of duty, serious dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service for the alleged mismanagement of the oxygen plant.Provincial Legal Officer Alberto Nellas Jr. said that during routine inspections conducted it was discovered that there were accessories, ancillary components and medical equipment that were missing and unaccounted that is why the plant’s performance was not up to par.Inspections revealed an alarming deterioration of the plant's essential mach...