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The countdown to the MassKara Festival was held at the Bacolod City Government Center Friday night.*Ronnie Baldonado photo Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Friday, September 30, that he expects about P5 billion in revenues for Bacolod City during the three-week MassKara Festival. “We are expecting about P5 billion to enter the system because of this event,” he said. The October 1 to 23 festival kicked off with a countdown at the Bacolod City government center Friday night. Bacolodnons should prepare for the best ever MassKara Festival, Benitez said. “We have planned for this for a couple of months and you can see the reaction of the people is very positive,” he said, not only in Bacolod but in other parts of the country and abroad. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. an...

Human Settlements Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar and Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Benitez led the groundbreaking ceremony Friday.* Human Settlements Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar and Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Benitez led the groundbreaking ceremony for the Yuhum Village at the Arao property in Barangay Vista Alegre, that kick starts the construction of housing units for informal settler families (ISF) in Bacolod City. Benitez, with the support of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), said he aims to construct 10,000 housing units worth P10 billion in various sites in Bacolod City. The target is to complete the construction of the 10,000 housing units by 2023, Acuzar said. A total of 5,000 units will be built in Barangay Vista Alegre, some of which will be in...

Human Settlements Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar and Mayor Javier Benitez (3rd and 2nd from left) sign a housing memorandum of understanding on Friday.* The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) is committed to helping Victorias City in its housing programs, DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar said Friday, September 30. Acuzar, who signed a memorandum of understanding with Victorias Mayor Javier Benitez in Bacolod City, said no specific number of housing units have been decided on yet as the city government is preparing its plans so they can begin. Benitez said they just finished their assessment and Victorias City needs about 6,000 units, especially for residents residing in flood-prone areas. They are looking at several housing sites in barangays...

The restaurants of the Manokan Country tenants who failed to pay their arrears will be closed down on Monday, Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said Friday, September 30. Benitez said if some of the tenants made a big payment on their delinquencies, the city government might consider some arrangement. “But as of now if they are not fully paid they will be closed by Monday,” he said. The Bacolod City Legal Office (CLO) served demand letters in August to the 17 tenants of the Manokan Country to pay their delinquent accounts totaling P8.64 million or face closure. Several have since made some payments on their arrears. Meanwhile, Benitez said he wants the water refilling stations in Bacolod that have been closed for failure to avail of the necessary permits named. ...

Provincial Legal Officer Alberto Nellas Jr.* Eighteen personnel of the Provincial Disaster Management Program Division of Negros Occidental have been issued show causes orders, Provincial Legal Officer Alberto Nellas Jr. said Friday, September 30. Issued show cause orders were 13 drivers, a utility worker , three administrative aides and one special operations officer, he said. The drivers were issued show cause orders for failure to comply with the rule on the submission of trip tickets immediately after they travel, Nellas said. The admin personnel were issued show cause orders for complaints against their behavior, he added. The show cause orders were issued two weeks ago and so far only one has not replied, Nellas said. The Provincial Legal Office is determining if t...

The man who was gunned down in Sagay City on Thursday.*Sagay PNP photo A man was killed while a woman was hit by a stray bullet in Brgy. Poblacion 2, Sagay City, Negros Occidental, Thursday night, September 29. Killed was Jomarie Matarong, 38, while Marilyn Mangulabnan, 56, suffered injuries. Matarong was on his way home on board his motorcycle when he was shot by a motorcycle-riding suspect who was tailing him, the police said. When he fell to the ground, he was shot again by the suspect’s companion who was already on the side of the road. Both fled together. Matarong was declared dead on arrival, while the woman is now in good condition. Recovered from the scene were six cartridges of a .45 caliber pistol and three deformed bullets. Police said the victim who was in...

motorcycle accident in Sagay City on Wednesday, September 28.*Sagay PNP photo A motorcycle driver died after he was ran over by a truck at the highway in Barangay Old Sagay, Sagay City, Negros Occidental, Wednesday, September 28. Killed was Kayne Ray Taleda, 22, while injured was his companion. Taleda, and another motorcycle driven by John Danly Baraga were tailing a truck when Baraga tried to overtake it but failed, a police report said Friuday. Taleda’s motorcycle then hit Baraga causing them to fall on the pavement, but Taleda was ran over by the truck. Taleda’s rider was injured while Baraga was unscathed.*

The former rebel who surrendered to authorities.* A suspected member of the New People’s Army surrendered to authorities in Brgy. Locotan, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, on September 26. Lt. Col. Joel Garcia, Regional Mobile Force Battalion 6 commander, identified the surrenderer as Edgar Millares, 58. He was a former member of the Squad 1, Nissan Platoon, Southwest Front Kometing Region Negros Cebu-Bohol-Siquijor. Millares also surrendered his 12-gauage homemade shotgun with two bullets, Garcia said. The police will continue to implement the government's program for those who want to surrender to the government to achieve peace and development, he said.*