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The decision on whether Central Negros Electric Cooperative should enter into a joint venture agreement with Ignite Power and Energy Holdings Inc. (MORE Power) lies in the hands of its members consumers, former CENECO president Roy Cordova said Friday, May 12.A referendum will have to be conducted for the purpose, he said. Roel Castro, MORE Power president and chief executive officer, said on Tuesday that a referendum is expected to be held sometime in June or July.CENECO serves the needs of Bacolod, Silay, Talisay and Bago cities, and the municipalities of Murcia and Don Salvador Benedicto.The JVA between Ignite and CENECO is one of the best options for the electric distribution utility to meet present demands and challenges, Cordova said.CENECO will become a robust distri...

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Bago City Mayor Nicholas Yulo led the inauguration of the newly constructed cold storage and meat cutting facilities in Brgy. Lag-asan, Bago City, Thursday afternoon, May 11.Lacson said the high-standard slaughterhouses in some local government units of the province are established and supported by the provincial government to help boost the local economy.Yulo thanked Lacson for donating the structure “that will create more livelihood opportunities and economic activities in the city”.They are looking into the possibility of exporting quality meat products in the future, and for Bago City to be known for “Negros Wagyu”, a press release from the Capitol said.The facility will be managed by the Bago City Office for Veterinary Aff...

A man suffering from Alzheimer’s disease drowned in the sea at Villa Victoria, Brgy Zone 1, Cadiz City, at 6:20 p.m. Wednesday.He was identified as Genovibo Camaling Munez, 62, of Villa Victoria.A neighbor said at 4 p.m. he noticed that the victim, who was under the influence of intoxicating liquor, going towards the coastal area.Later, a bystander discovered his lifeless body on the seashore, the police said.In La Carlota City a sugar farm seasonal worker from Antique was stabbed to death by a father and son at Hacienda Candaguit, Brgy. Batuan, 11:15 p.m. Wednesday, May 10.Killed was Jovy Francisco Española, 35, of Purok 2, Brgy Capoyuan, Barbaza, Antique, and temporarily residing at Hacienda Candaguit, the police said.The suspects are farm laborers Andy and Aldrin...

The decision on whether to push through with the Barangay and Sanggunniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) in Negros Oriental will be out in the second or third week of September, the poll body’s chief told Senators on Wednesday, May 10.This, after Senator Francis Tolentino proposed during the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs hearing the rescheduling of the elections in the province noting the peace and order issue following the death of its late Governor Roel Degamo.Citing reports, Tolentino said results of the surveys conducted by some newspapers in Region 7 show that some people favor the 30-day postponement of the elections set this October.Comelec chairperson George Garcia expressed his support to the proposal of the panel, admitting that the poll body has th...

Himamaylan City is now leading in the Chikiting Ligtas 2023 campaign of Negros Occidental, a supplemental immunization campaign to vaccinate children aged 9 to 59 months old against measles rubella.Himamaylan City had vaccinated 77 percent of its target, while the entire Negros Occidental had vaccinated 51 percent as of Wednesday, Dr. Girlie Pinongan, OIC-Provincial Health Officer, said Thursday, May 11.They are aiming to vaccinate 95 percent of their target children by the end of the month and so far they have covered 113,000, she said.The area with the second highest vaccination rate is Candoni, she added.She said they are also continuing to push for more persons to be vaccinated against COVID-19 especially in areas in Negros Occidental that still remain under Alert Level...

Alan Gozon, KAPATIRAN secretary general *Members of a former Communist Party of the Philippines-New Peoples’ Army breakaway group who entered into a peace agreement with the Philippine government continue to remain targets of NPA hit squads, their leaders said Thursday, May 11.The former Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa-Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPM-P/RPA/ABB) rebels who entered into the peace agreementare now members of the Kapatiran Para sa Progresong Panlipunan Inc. (KAPATIRAN), a non-government organization.Alan Gozon, KAPATIRAN secretary general and Democratic Association of Labor Organizations chairman, said his house in Barangay Bata, Bacolod City, has recently been under surveillance by suspected NPA hitmen.Gozon said ...

Veronica Tabara, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, Provincial Administrator Rayfrado Diaz and Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante (l-l) at the Provincial Site Coordinating Team meeting at the Capitol, Thursday.*Richard Malihan photoNegros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson convened the Provincial Site Coordinating Team (SCT) to assist in implementing programs to fast track the full reintegration of former rebels who have entered into a peace agreement with the government.The SCT meeting held at the Capitol on Thursday, May 11, was convened to oversee the peace process with the Kapatiran Para sa Progresong Panlipunan Inc. (KAPATIRAN) to reach finality, he said.When he established the SCT in 2020 they never met because of the COVID-19 pandemic so the meeting on Thursday was the very first, L...

A 15-year girl died and nine others were injured in a vehicular accident in Purok Adana, Brgy Tapi, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 9.The victims, who are from Brgy Magballo, Kabankalan, were on board a cargo truck driven by Nonito Menardo Dela Cruz, 62.The victims had gone to church and were travelling from Brgy Tabugon to Brgy Magballo when the brakes of the truck they were on suddenly malfunctioned and hit a germilina tree resulting in the death of the teen and the injury of her companions.The child reportedly fell off the truck and was pinned beneath one of its tires.*

Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, Visayas Command commander.*PNA file photoThe few remaining members of the New People's Army (NPA) in the Visayas are now in disarray and getting tired of moving from one place to another as the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) faces a leadership vacuum following the deaths of its founder Jose Maria Sison and key leaders.“Due to the leadership vacuum that the CPP–NPA is suffering coupled with the active support of the community to the security efforts of the government forces, the few remaining members of the terrorist group remain in disarray and with no clear direction," Visayas Command chief, Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, said in a statement Thursday, May 11.He said that the communist terrorists "are tired due to constant movement having no saf...

City Administrator Pacifico Maghari at the LTFRB head office in Quezon City on Wednesday.*The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) head office on Wednesday, May 10, directed its regional office in Western Visayas to expedite the issuance of provisional authorities (PAs) that will allow traditional jeepneys to continue operating in Bacolod City until December 31.Bacolod City Administrator Pacifico Maghari said he met with the LTFRB board members led by their chairman Teofilo Guadiz III at their head office in Quezon City.They assured that the issuance of PA applications at the regional office as requested and endorsed by the city will be expedited, Maghari said.The PAs will allow the traditional jeepneys to operate until December 31 as stated in an LT...