Carla P. Gomez

The Provincial Development Council meeting last week.* Richard Malihan photoThe Provincial Development Council has endorsed a Department of Agriculture (DA) proposal for the allocation of ₱12 billion for farm-to-market roads in Negros Occidental for the approval of the Regional Development Council (RDC), Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante said on Monday, May 25..The DA proposal includes farm-to-market roads for all local government units in Negros Occidental, said Escalante, who is also the president of the Negros Association of Chief Executives (Negros ACE).Negros ACE, which is composed of the mayors of Negros Occidental, will meet on Thursday to also pass a resolution supporting the DA proposal to the RDC, Escalante said.They will also submit their resolution to Agriculture ...

Bacolod Rep. Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez *Bacolod Rep. Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez said the House the Committee on Health and the Committee on Persons with Disabilities approved House Bill 3379, or the National Autism Program Act on Monday, March 25, marking an important step in strengthening support for individuals with ASD and their families.The bill seeks to expand access to free assessment and therapy, PhilHealth coverage, early detection programs, inclusive education and barangay-based therapy centers, for every Filipino with ASD, he said.It also grants TESDA training opportunities, additional leave benefits for parents, and other measures that promote dignity, inclusion, and better opportunities for Filipinos with ASD, he added.“We will continue to push ...

Toboso Mayor Richard Jaojoco*Toboso Mayor Richard Jaojoco slammed the Northern Negros Electric Cooperative (NONECO) for its lack of transparency in the election of the members of its board of directors.He said the election of the NONECO director in the Toboso area is overdue.The NONECO board and general manager should request for the holding of an election from the National Electrification Administration (NEA), and he does not know why this has not been done, Jaojoco said.He also noted that NONECO charges the highest electric rates among the three cooperatives in Negros Occidental.Jaojoco said he is open to a 70-30 privatization of NONECO to improve its services, similar to the Central Negros Electric Cooperative-Negros Electric and Power Corp. joint venture agreement (...

Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. meets with the Philippine Army troops in Negros Occidental.*DND photoDefense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. said on Saturday, May 23, that no civilians were killed in the encounter with the New People's Army (NPA) in Toboso, Negros Occidental.Teodoro said he is 100 percent sure of the legitimacy of the Army’s conduct during its encounters with the NPA in Toboso and Cauayan, Negros Occidental, amid deliberate efforts by communist groups to distort the truth.“There is a lot of misinformation coming out and I’m here to correct that,” said Teodoro, who met with Negros Occidental officials led by Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson at the Capitol in Bacolod City, and visited the 79th and 15th Infantry Battalion troops at their headquarters.T...

The General Alliance of Workers Associations (GAWA)  on Sunday, May 24, said it was dismayed over the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) -Western Visayas' decision to dismiss a petition for a wage increase for all private-sector workers in  WV and Negros Occidental.Wennie Sancho, secretary general of GAWA, said the dismissal of  the requested ₱250 daily wage hike—originally filed by the United Panay Labor Alliance—on a mere technicality was premature.The WV RTWPB decision also  covers workers of  Negros Occidental since no wage board has been created for the  Negros  Island Region, Sancho said.  The dismissal of the wage petition on a technicality “is like using procedural moves to avoid a decision," Sancho said....

Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. (second from left) with Rep. Mercedes Alvarez (Neg. Occ., 6th District), Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, former Manapla mayor Manuel Escalante and Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) at the Capitol in Bacolod City on Saturday.* Richard Malihan photoNegros Occidental is now  in a period of continuing rehabilitation   because Kanlaon Volcano has not stopped  degassing, Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. said  on Saturday, May 23.There were nine ash emissions at Kanlaon Volcano on Saturday and Sunday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reported.The major effort is to look for permanent relocation sites  for those  affected  by Kanlaon’s  ...

Youth advocacy group Kabataan Partylist Negros on Sunday, May 24,  again  condemned statements by Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson that encourage school administrators to monitor student campus activities, calling the move an advancement toward state surveillance and profiling in academic institutions.Lacson on Thursday said “there is nothing wrong with school officials knowing the activities going on among the youth on their campuses”.The governor said his call for vigilance was directed at school administrations following reports of  rebel recruitment on campuses. While he noted the recruitment is not immediately to join the New People’s Army (NPA), he maintained that campus activities could lead in that direction.Kabataan Partylist Negros in its ...

The Bacolod police seized ₱14.2 million worth of shabu during a buy-bust operation at Purok Camonsil, Barangay 3, Bacolod City, at 2:59 a.m. today, May 23.Operatives recovered 2,100 grams of suspected shabu with an estimated standard drug price of ₱14,280,000, the Police Regional Office Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR) reported.The arrested suspects were identified as alias "John", 29, a painter and resident of Purok Camonsil, and alias "Mark", 34, a construction worker from Purok GK, Barangay Cabug, Bacolod City.The operation was conducted by Police Station 2 operatives with support from the City Drug Enforcement Unit of the Bacolod City Police Office.The suspects are currently detained at Bacolod Police Station 2.The Bacolod police also seized 4.2 kilos of shabu valued ...