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Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer.*Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer will be acting governor of Negros Occidental starting Wednesday, May 17.He will assume the duties and responsibilities of Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson until May 25.Lacson said he is going to be the United States to be a godfather at a wedding.He will back in Negros Occidental on May 26.*

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, center, presides over a meeting on the hog disease situation in Negros Occidental on Tuesday.*Richard Malihan photoNegros Occidental remains African Swine Fever (ASF) free despite the death of 2,421 pigs from hog cholera, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said Tuesday, May 16.Department of Agriculture Regional Executive Director, Jose Albert Barrogo, also said on Tuesday that there is still a need to protect the provinces of Antique and Negros Occidental, which are the two Western Visayas provinces that remain ASF free.Lacson issued Executive Order No. 23-19 activating an Incident Command System and creating an Incident Management Team in response to the hog deaths and to set up a management mechanism versus the animal biosecurity threat.The EO also directe...

Backhoes are now being used to dig mass graves for dead pigs from hog cholera in San Enrique, Negros Occidental, Mayor Jilson Tubillara said Tuesday, May 16.Records show that since last month 726 pigs have died in San Enrique affecting 217 raisers, but the number is much higher as other deaths have not been reported, he said.Pigs in all 10 barangays of San Enrique have been hit with hog cholera. They become ill in the morning and die in the afternoon, Tubillara said.San Enrique is a catch basin for water so if dead pigs are thrown in rivers this causes the spread of the virus that infects other pigs, he said.They are using backhoes to bury the dead pigs because they are so many, and they must be buried six feet below the ground to prevent the spread of the disease, he said....

Operators of about 600 traditional public utility jeepneys (PUJs) in Bacolod City are seeking an extension of their provisional authority (PA) from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to be able to operate even without franchises until the end of the year.The city government has endorsed the issuance of PAs to qualified traditional PUJ operators to ensure sufficient public transport, while modern jeepneys are still not enough to cover all the local routes under the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) in Bacolod.Councilor Al Victor Espino, chairman of the committee on transportation and traffic, said on Tuesday, May 16, that the City Council passed a resolution last week supporting the issuance of PAs for operators of old jeepneys until ...

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson (right) at the Love Negros gathering Sunday night.*There is no Love Negros rift, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said Tuesday, May 16. The gathering of Love Negros members at a dinner hosted by Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez at his house Monday night is proof of that, he said.“Maybe some people just want to create a controversy but actually there really is none,” Lacson said. Present at the gathering aside from Benitez and Lacson were 14 of the 16 Love Negros mayors of the province.Two were out of the province, he said.He said they all had fun at the gathering and are already planning for the next one.Asked why the gathering was held, Lacson said in jest: “Mayor Albee just misses us”...

A heated argument led to the killing of a resident by hacking in Calatrava town, Negros Occidental, Monday afternoon, May 15, the police reported Tuesday.Torebio Maano, 59, was allegedly hacked by Junrey Mahinay after a heated conversation in Sitio Puting Tubig, Brgy. Mina-utok, Calatrava, the police report said.Police Maj. Ronald Santillan, Calatrava Police Chief, said the victim was looking for the father of the suspect.Maano asked Mahinay where his father was and the heated argument ensued.Mahinay then drew his bladed weapon and hacked Maano several times, inflicting hack wounds on his head that caused his death.The victim was brought to the Calatrava Municipal Hospital but was pronounced dead.Santillan said that the suspect surrendered at the barangay hall befor...

Mayor Marvin Malacon has sought the expertise and assistance of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) and the Department of Agriculture (DA)-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to conduct the site assessments in three coastal barangays of E. B. Magalona for the construction of a multi-species marine hatchery.Malacon met with the representatives of SEAFDEC- Aquaculture Department, DA-BFAR Field Office in Negros Occidental, and Office of 3rd District Rep. Jose Francisco “Kiko” Benitez on Monday, May 15, to discuss his request.Joining them were Municipal Planning and Development Office head Erwin Poniado, Acting Municipal Agriculture Officer Efren Garcia Jr., and Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office- designate Jojo Vargas.In the meet...

The Negros Occidental provincial government has started releasing midyear bonuses totaling P81,195,636 to all its regular and casual employees, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Tuesday, May 16.The provincial government has 2,761 employees – 2,032 of whom are permanent and 729 are casuals, Diaz said.The provincial government had appropriated P92.2 million for the midyear bonuses in its 2013 budget, he said.The funds were downloaded Monday, he said.The midyear bonus is equivalent to one month’s salary.*