President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (3rd from left, front row) with Negros officials after signing into law Republic Act 12000 or the Negros Island Region Act at Malacañang Palace in Manila on June 13.*RTVM photo
The year 2024 marked milestones for Bacolod City and the province of Negros Occidental in various international initiatives and the dawn of a new administrative region.
Challenges posed by climate change and calamities also tested the resilient spirit of the Negrenses.
On June 13, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act 12000, or the Negros Island Region (NIR) Act, which created an administrative region comprising Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.
The NIR Act separates Negros Occidental from Western Visayas (Region 6) and Negros Oriental and Siquijor from Central Visayas (Region 7).
The NIR Act brought together the two Negros provinces, this time with Siquijor, under one administrative region after the initial creation of the NIR in 2015 under an executive order issued by the late President Benigno Aquino III but abolished by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2017 due to funding constraints.
Marcos said the NIR would be a “bulwark of greater growth” and a “conduit” for more effective and efficient delivery of essential services in the region.
“Indeed, in unity, there is always strength. And that is what we are building, and I trust that the people of the newly established NIR will work together to complement each other’s strengths to build a more united and flourishing Negrense community,” he said in his speech during the signing in Malacañang in Manila.
SLOW FOOD, ORGANIC AGRICULTURE
In September, Bacolod was chosen to host the first Terra Madre Salone del Gusto Asia and the Pacific in November next year, positioning the city as a global hub for slow food.
Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez signed a memorandum of agreement with Slow Food International director general Paolo di Croce during the Terra Madre Salone del Gusto in Turin, Italy.
Terra Madre is considered “the largest event dedicated to food politics, sustainable agriculture and the environment.”
In early December, Negros Occidental was selected to host the 2027 Organic World Congress (OWC) during the end of this year’s edition at Nanhua University in Taiwan.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, together with the province’s 14 city and municipal mayors, led the bid for the hosting where Negros Occidental, considered the “Organic Food Bowl of the Philippines,” beat Brisbane, Australia during the voting, 128-92.
“Hosting the IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) Organic World Congress in Negros Occidental is not just an event for us. It is an opportunity to amplify the organic movement, inspire policy reforms, and empower farmers worldwide,” the governor said.
WORLD RECORD FOR CHICKEN-SHAPED HOTEL
Considered the newest tourism icon in Negros Occidental, the “Manok ni Cano Gwapo” was declared the “largest building in the shape of a chicken” by the Guinness World Records.
Located inside the Campuestohan Highland Resort in Barangay Cabatangan, Talisay City, the 115-foot hotel structure, which depicts a rooster, has 115 steps of stairs and 15 hotel rooms.
The unique edifice measures 34.931 meters (114 feet, 7 inches) in height, 12.127 meters (39 feet, 9 inches) in width, and 28.172 meters (92 feet, 5 inches) in length, verified on Sept. 8.
TOURISM AWARDS
It was also a banner year for Negros Occidental province, Sipalay City and Don Salvador Benedicto town, which bagged the grand winner awards in six categories of the 2024 Pearl Awards presented by the Department of Tourism and the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines in October.
At the provincial level, Negros Occidental was Best in Local Event Hosting for the Negros Trade Fair, the country’s longest-running provincial trade fair held in Metro Manila for 38 years now.
It also bagged the champion award in Best in International Event Hosting for the staging of the first Slow Food Terra Madre Visayas in November last year.
For the component city level, Sipalay City was named the grand winner in three categories — Best Tourism Month Celebration (17th Sipalay City Tourism Month Celebration), Best Practices for Sustainable Tourism (Lakbayon Women’s Beach Cleanup Volunteer Project), and the highest award for Best Tourism-Oriented LGU (Safe and Sustainable Sipalay).
Don Salvador Benedicto, known as the summer capital of Negros Occidental, was the back-to-back grand winner in Best Tourism Promotional Video at the municipal level.
PEACE AND ORDER, INTERNAL SECURITY
In March, the Regional Peace and Order Council-Western Visayas (RPOC-6) approved the declaration of a state of stable internal peace and security (SIPS) in Negros Occidental.
“It only shows that the campaign against the local terrorist groups is really gaining ground,” Lacson, who chairs the RPOC-6, said.
He expressed hopes that “investors will feel more confident” coming to the province, “knowing that there is peace and order” in Negros Occidental.
The Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division recommended the declaration of a state of SIPS in Negros Occidental after government troops dismantled all five guerrilla fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in Negros Island.
In November, eight insurgents died while none among the soldiers was injured or killed during the gunbattle between remnants of the South West Front and troops of the 47th and 15th Infantry Battalions in Barangay Gatuslao, Candoni town.
CONDONATION OF AGRARIAN DEBTS
On Dec. 19, a total of 6,125 agrarian reform beneficiaries in Negros Occidental province were freed from debts amounting to P816.688 million under Republic Act 11953 or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act.
Department of Agrarian Reform Undersecretary for Foreign-Assisted and Special Projects Office Jesry Palmares led the distribution of the certificates of condonation with release of mortgage to identified farmers in a ceremony at Cadiz City Arena.
Signed by President Marcos in July 2023, the New Agrarian Emancipation Act condones all loans, including interests, penalties, and surcharges, incurred by ARBs from lands awarded to them under Presidential Decree 27, Republic Act 6657 and Republic Act 9700.
SOLAR POWER UTILIZATION
Benitez led the switch-on of the 400-kilowatt solar power system at the Bacolod City Government Center in a ceremony witnessed by Frederic Tesfay, who leads the Urban Act and Renewable Energy Projects in the Philippines for GIZ, the main German development agency, on Dec. 18.
“This project is a testament to our vision of a greener and more sustainable Bacolod. By harnessing solar energy, we not only reduce costs (by about 50 percent) but also lead by example in protecting our environment for future generations,” Benitez said.
Tesfay called the move of the city to utilize solar power to energize government buildings a “monumental step towards Bacolod’s energy future,” adding that “while other cities hesitate, Bacolod has taken bold steps forward.”
EL NIÑO ONSLAUGHT
The El Niño onslaught in early 2024 affected 25 of 31 local government units in Negros Occidental, which recorded damage to rice and corn crops amounting to more than P200 million, data from the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist showed.
Also, by mid-April, the prolonged dry spell brought more than P200 million in damage to sugar and molasses in Negros Occidental, the country’s top sugar-producing province, according to the Sugar Regulatory Administration.
The cities of Kabankalan and San Carlos, as well as the municipality of San Enrique, declared a state of calamity due to El Niño.
MT. KANLAON ERUPTION
Toward the end of the year, the second explosive eruption of Mt. Kanlaon affected 22,622 persons, composed of 7,313 families, from seven local government units in Negros Occidental, including the cities of Bago, La Carlota, San Carlos and the municipalities of La Castellana, Moises Padilla, Murcia and Pontevedra, data of the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Western Visayas as of Dec. 28 showed.
Since the Dec. 9 eruption, at least 8,740 persons or 2,661 families have sought shelter in 24 evacuation centers, while 4,963 persons or 1,549 families have been staying with friends or relatives.
On Dec. 13, the Provincial Board approved a resolution placing the entire province of Negros Occidental under a state of calamity due to the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon.
The declaration affirmed the recommendation of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, based on the notice issued by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, raising the status of the volcano to Alert 3, which “means magmatic eruption has begun that may progress to further explosive eruptions.”
The latest eruption came six months after a similar eruption on June 3, which placed the active volcano on Alert 2 (increasing unrest).*PNA