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City PIO photosMayor Evelio "Bing" Leonardia lauded the continued support of businessman Ian Lo of the Negros Grace Pharmacy, who donated 50,000 assorted canned goods worth P1 million for Bacolod residents hard hit by the pandemic.Ian Lo turned over his donation to Leonardia personally at the Bacolod City National High School Tuesday, September 14, and asked him to assist his company in the distribution of goods, a press release from the city public information office said.Leonardia echoed anew his gratitude to the generosity of Lo and the business community as the city battles the COVID-19 pandemic.Also with Lo was John Arceo, the company's public relations officer.Leonardia commended the corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs of Negros Grace Pharmacy, citing t...

City PIO photoMayor Evelio Leonardia inducted into office the new set of officers of the Supreme Student Government (SSG) of the Bacolod City College (BCC) in a virtual ceremony, recently.Leonardia, chairman of the BCC Board of Trustees, inducted 65 newly elected and newly appointed officers, led by Jhon Kevin Rembulat as SSG president, a press release from the Bacolod Public Information Office, said Tuesday, September 14.The mayor commended the new SSG officers, emphasizing that not everybody is given the opportunity to serve his fellow students and the community.“You are the chosen ones. You are being selected among the many, you have to make the most out of it because this chance comes only once,” he added.Leonardia, who founded BCC in 1997, told the student officer...

Capitol photosThe Negros Occidental provincial government kicked off its 2021 Tourism Month Celebration with Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson turning over a tourist restroom at the terminal area in Calatrava, Friday, September 10.Also turned over were Safety Health Protocol Stickers for Accommodation Establishments and Tourism Offices in the First District of the province.Responding to the needs of tourists in a province considered to be the second highest in terms of tourist arrival next to Aklan in Western Visayas, the provincial government through the Provincial Tourism Office in partnership with the Office of the Provincial Engineer built green tourist restrooms, funded under the 20 percent Provincial Development Fund, a press release from the Capitol said.The restroom is c...

Bacolod PIO photoBacolod City senior citizens received P8,139,000 in social pension payouts for the second semester of 2021 that covers July to December.A total of 2,713 Bacolod senior citizens from 61 barangays received P3,000 each distributed by the Department of Social Services and Development on Thursday and Friday, September 9 and 10.Mayor Evelio Leonardia joined the distribution rites at Barangay Villamonte Friday, a press release from the Bacolod Public Information Office said.Assisting in the distribution in Villamonte were Punong Barangay Rommel Flores and the kagawads.Among the barangays with the biggest number of beneficiaries are Handumanan- 146, Banago- 122, Taculing- 119, Bata- 118, Mansilingan- 117, Tangub- 115, Singcang-Airport- 112, Villamonte- 108, Man...

Capitol photoGov. Eugenio Jose Lacson distributed P7.2 million worth of development projects to local government units in Negros Occidental at the Capitol Social Hall in Bacolod City Thursday afternoon, September 9.The recipients were barangays Balintawak and Dian-ay of Escalante City; . Tiglawigan and Zone IV of Cadiz City; San Juan, II - Poblacion, Pandan, General Malvar, Cambarus, Canroma, M.H. Del Pilar, and San Isidro of Pontevedra; Cubay, Roberto S. Benedicto, and Batuan of La Carlota City; Tabunan and Calumanggan of Bago City; Quiwi, Bato, Paticui, Gargato, Anahaw, and Cambugsa of Hinigaran; and Vista Alegre of Ilog, a press release from the Capitol said.The funds will be used for projects such as renovation and improvement of health center, concreting of barangay road, ...

The Ponce Group of Companies and the St. John's Institute (SJI) Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) donated four oxygen concentrators to the Bacolod City government, during the vaccination drive at the SJI campus Wednesday, September 8.Of the four oxygen concentrators, three are from the Ponce Group, and one is from SJI PTA, a press release from the Bacolod Public Information Office said Thursday.Representing both donors was Marigold Ponce, franchisee of Ponce Group Food Division and president of the SJI PTA. Also joining her were the officers of the SJI PTA.Mayor Evelio Leonardia, chair of the Emergency Operations Center, received the donation, along with Dr. Chris Sorongon, Emergency Operations Center (EOC) deputy medical data and analysis.The equipment will be turned over...

The Sagay City snorkeling guides received assistance from the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) -Cadiz on Wednesday, September 8.The CENRO through its Sagay Marine Reserve (SMR) under its Conservation and Development Section spearheaded the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) and turn-over ceremony for its Development of Biodiversity-Friendly Enterprise (BDFE) in protected areas under the National Integrated Protected System (NIPAS) at Balay, Kauswagan, Sagay City.Mayor Alfredo Marañon III and Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Edgardo Rostata led the MOA signing and turnover of the equipment to BuhayDagat Snorkeling Guides of Sagay Association, a CENRO press release said.They received 30 sets of life vests, 30 sets of full foot...

Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia will address the faculty members of the College of Nursing of the University of St. La Salle, students and their family members in a virtual forum at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 9.More than 1,000 are expected to attend the webinar, Dr. Chris Sorongon, deputy medical of the Emergency Operations Center, said in a press release.Leonardia, who chairs both the city's EOC and the COVID-19 Vaccination Council, will center his inspirational message on the initiatives of the local government to achieve herd immunity that will ensure the safety of communities and residents.The September 9 webinar with Lasallians is an offshoot of an earlier Zoom meeting with the mayor, City Administrator Em Legaspi-Ang, concurrent EOC executive director and COVaC ...

Capitol photoA total of 56 Indigenous Peoples (IPs) from Salvador Benedicto, Negros Occidental, received educational assistance worth P420,000 on Tuesday, September 7.Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, Rep. Gerardo Valmayor Jr. (Neg. Occ., 1st District), Salvador Benedicto Mayor Marxlen Dela Cruz, and Negros Occidental Scholarship Program (NOSP) Division head, Karen Dinsay, distributed the cash assistance to elementary and high school IP students at the Brgy. Bagong Silang Covered Court in the town.Each IP student received P7,500 as allowance for the school year, under the scholarship category, Educational Assistance for IP’s Basic Education (EAIBE), a press release from the Capitol said.Lacson said that the grantees must study diligently because the provincial government will conti...

The World Association of News Publishers’ (WAN-IFRA) Women in News (WIN) program formally announces its expansion in Southeast Asia on Monday, September 6.The program brings its one-of-a-kind career training for women journalists and editors to the Philippines, following successful launches of the Leadership Accelerator in Vietnam and Myanmar last year.Through a series of unique training, mentoring and coaching sessions, WIN provides women in media with the chance to acquire new skills in a rapidly shifting landscape, and build their capacity to lead and transform organizations.“As Covid-19 reshapes newsrooms, wreaks havoc on revenues and accelerates the move to digital platforms, journalists and editors are finding themselves having to constantly adapt to new realities as they...