Carla P. Gomez

A show cause order has been issued to Provincial Agriculturist Japhet Masculino to explain the alleged delay in the payment by his office of about P1 million to a catering firm, Provincial Legal Officer Alberto Nellas Jr. said Thursday, May 27.Masculino already submitted his explanation, which is being assessed, Nellas said.The catering services were for Office of the Provincial Agriculturist trainor’s training activities in 2018, Masculino said.He said the paper work for the payment and negotiations with the catering firm is being undertaken.Meanwhile, the formal investigations of the cases against Provincial Budget Officer Jose Percival Salado Jr. and Ma. Mina Pellejo, former officer- in-charge of the Negros Occidental Comprehensive Health Program Division, have already b...

Talisay PIO photoNegros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said Thursday, May 27, that he has until Monday, May 31, to decide whether the Capitol should return to a five-day work week and if curfew hours in the province should be reduced.Lacson said he expects Negros Occidental to remain under Modified General Community Quarantine in June.He said the return to a five-day work week and reduced curfew hours will depend on the number of active COVID-19 cases in the province.The provincial government is currently operating under a four-day work week and curfew in Negros occidental is from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. to curb the spread of COVID-19.Negros Occidental had 1,336 active COVID-19 cases on Thursday. It has had 329 deaths and 12,967 recoveries from COVID-19 since March last y...

Capitol photoMore than 821,000 residents have registered for national identification cards in Negros Occidental as of May 21, a Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) official said Thursday, May 27.Luis Gonzales, PSA Negros Occidental chief statistical specialist, said they have exceeded more than 100 percent of their 800,000 target for the province.However, they are continuing their registration drive since the goal is to reach all Filipinos, he said.Registration is ongoing in Bacolod malls and in towns and cities of Negros Occidental.They are catering to persons who are 15 years old and above, he said.Negros Occidental and Bacolod City have a population of more than 3 million people.There may be a different system for the registration of those below 15 years ol...

Its official, the Negros First CyberCentre (NFCC) in Bacolod City will now be back under the management of the Negros Occidental provincial government, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said.The mutual termination agreement between the Negros Occidental provincial government and the Negros Property Management and Development Corp. (NPMDC) was signed Thursday, May 27, in virtual rites, he said.We will have a transition period, the provincial government will take over the management of the NFCC from NPMDC in June, he said.“In terms of income, we feel it will be more advantageous to the province if we are the ones managing it (NFCC),” he said.The NFCC will be placed under the Economic Enterprise Development Department of the provincial government.The provincial government had previ...

The House of Representatives approved a bill co-authored by Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Benitez (Negros Occidental, 3rd District) to promote community-based lifelong learning on second reading Tuesday, May 25.House Bill 9004 consolidated several bills, including House Bill No. 6749, authored by Benitez.Benitez said he believes that "learning is a continuum, happening throughout life and everywhere, beyond the confines of the school and institutional programs."House Bill 9004 provides a national framework to promote lifelong learning.The framework will guide LGUs to develop institutions and infrastructures to become Leaning Cities, including establishing Community Learning Centers to host adult education programs and enable blended or distance learning through digital technologies...

The City Legal Office served a cease and desist order Wednesday, May 26, versus business operations in barangays Sum-ag and Pahanocoy in Bacolod City “that endanger/destroy the environment.”Lawyer Reuben Mikhail Sabig, CLO Enforcement Unit head, issued the CDO to Engineer Andre Taculod, who was ordered to halt his operations and or business activities in the two barangays.Initial facts gathered, especially on the basis of the report of Sum-ag Barangay Captain Rodney Carmona, show that Taculod’s activities have involved the cutting of mangroves in a two to three-hectare area, the building of a wharf (mini-port) and development of a beach resort, Sabig said.The report shows that all these are causing destruction and endangering the environment, not to mention the consequential da...

A bill seeking the creation of a P600 million Bacolod City General Hospital was approved by the Senate on second reading Wednesday night, May 26, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said.An amended version of Senate Bill No. 1647 that calls for the establishment of the hospital is expected to be approved on third reading on Monday, May 31, Zubiri, author of the measure, told DIGICAST NEGROS.Zubiri said he hopes to get the bill signed into law before the President’s State of the Nation Address on the last Monday of July.The amendment to the bill states that the amount of P600 million will be appropriated for the construction of the hospital that will be funded under the 2022 General Appropriations Act under the Health Facilities Enhancement Program of the Department of Hea...

No trees were cut during the road clearing operations in Sitio Campuestohan, Barangay Cabatangan, Talisay City, within the multiple use zone of the Northern Negros Natural Park (NNNP).This was assured by Bacolod contractor Jerry Sy in a letter to Talisay City Mayor Neil Lizares Tuesday, May 25.Lizares on Monday, May 24, asked Sy to temporarily suspend road clearing work in the area until an environmentally favorable agreement is reached.These activities can result to the destruction of trees in the area, Lizares said, stressing that Talisay City is passionate in the conservation and protection of the environment.Sy, who has a Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) approved Special Use Agreement in Protected Areas (SAPA), in his letter to Lizares said “we understand that pro...

City PIO photoA Negros Occidental Provincial Health Office doctor urged Negrenses Wednesday, May 26, not to listen to fake news and get vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect themselves and their families from the deadly virus.Dr. Jessica Fama, PHO medical specialist 3, said the majority of the COVID-19 cases in Negros Occidental have been locally transmitted.Negros Occidental had 1,323 COVID-19 active cases, 326 deaths and 12,916 recoveries Wednesday, the Provincial Incident Management Team reported.The beauty of being vaccinated against COVID-19 is if you are hit by the virus you will not suffer severely from it and will not die, Fama said.She said the public should not listen to fake news against the COVID-19 vaccines being spread on social media, and instead listen ...

Rhoderick Samonte photoA Bacolod contractor has no permit to conduct road clearing work at Sitio Campuestohan in Talisay City, Negros Occidental, that is within the Northern Negros Natural Park (NNNP), an environment official said Tuesday, May 25.The Special Use Agreement in Protected Area (SAPA) application of Jerry Sy for the planting of endemic trees and high value crops was approved by the Protected Area Management Board, Joan Nathaniel Gerangaya, Community Environment and Natural Resources Office - Bago City head, said.However, the road clearing has no permit, it is not covered by the SAPA, he said.They cleared an old road and expanded it. It is being determined if trees were cut in the process, Gerangaya said.Talisay Mayor Neil Lizares on Monday ordered a halt to ...