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The Bacolod City government will soon bid out the delivery of services to implement the ordinance mandating a security seal on issued official documents.Councilor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, chair of the City Council’s Committee on Appropriation and Finance, said on Tuesday that the bidding would proceed once funding is available.However, it does not mean the release of the P35 million requirement in a single tranche.“If you need certification from the city, you will need to pay extra for the seal. The national government uses this now. The Department of the Interior and Local Government memorandum issued to us also has a security seal,” he added.The City Council last week approved the ordinance authored by Sayson and Councilor Al Victor Espino, promoting and ensuring the integri...

Four out of five residents aged 5 to 24 attended school in Western Visayas for academic year 2022 to 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Monday, September 25.The PSA reported that of the 2.97 million individuals aged 5 to 24 in the region, about 2.38 million were attending school last school year, 1.189 million of whom were male and 1.187 million were female.Of the total children attending school, 4.2 percent were 5-year-olds, 26.1 percent were 6 to 9, 17.6 percent were aged 10 to 12, about 12.2 percent were 13 to 14 years old, 12.4 percent were 15 to 16, 14.6 percent were 17 to 19, and 12.9 percent were 20 to 24 years old, the PSA said.With this record, 20 percent or 593,000 youngsters were not attending school in the region, it said.*

The Negros Occidental Provincial Police Office announced on Monday, September 25, that it will be limiting the information its can release based on their Revised Media Relations Policy.The revised policy is in reference to Republic Act 10173 or the “Data Privacy Act" and PNP Freedom of Information Manual, the NOCPPO public information office said.The PIO said they can no longer release the names of the victims and suspects, however, they can release details that can’t lead to their identification.The media will have to send formal requests for information to the chiefs of police through the Freedom of Information (FOI) personnel of each police station, it said.What they can provide are names of Arrested Wanted Persons, the PIO added.However, the PIO of the NOCPPO said t...

The Calatrava market fire*Manfred Lim Magno photoAbout P2.9 million worth of properties were destroyed in fires that hit Calatrava town and Bacolod City on Saturday and Monday, Sept. 23 and 25.Fire destroyed a market 40 minutes away from the town proper in Brgy. Marcelo, Calatrava, Saturday night, causing P2.4 million in losses.Bureau of Fire Protection-Calatrava Fire Officer and investigator Jose Denmark Sornito told DIGICAST NEGROS that nine stalls of the market were destroyed by the fire.These stalls were mostly sari-sari stores and small businesses, Sornito said.Sornito said that they are still investigating the cause of the incident.Meanwhile, fire destroyed the house of Chanda Lobaton at St. Benilde Homes in Brgy. Mansilingan, Bacolod City, early Monday mornin...

The increase in fuel prices will mean slower fast crafts.The usual one-hour ferry travel from Bacolod to Iloilo might extend for another 15 to 30 minutes as fast craft companies brace for the impact of fuel price increases on the transportation industry.Frank Carbon, one of the fast craft company owners, said fast crafts traveling to Iloilo will reduce their rates per minute (RPM) to ensure lesser fuel consumption.“If we increase the ferry fares, we might not have any passengers at all. Instead, we will reduce our speed to offset our fuel consumption,” he told DIGICAST NEGROS on Sunday, September 25.Carbon, who is also chief executive officer of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said from the usual travel time of about an hour, traveling from Bacolod to Il...

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez (center) at his weekly press conference on Monday.*Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Monday, September 25, that he ordered all city government departments to ensure that suppliers are paid in 30 days from delivery of their goods so they will no longer need to raise their prices to factor in long delays.The Bids and Awards Committee and the payment procedures were tackled in a meeting between Benitez and the department heads for the preparation of the city’s 2024 budgetThe internal audit team of the city will see to the enforcement of the 30-day payment order of the mayor.“Internal audit will review and streamline the payment process…30 days is more than enough time,” the mayor said.“If we pay on time, we reduce the cos...

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez (second from left) with Grab’s Jo-Ann Yoshida – Western Visayas regional operations head, Sherielysse Bonifacio - Public Affairs Philippines director, and Jay Lim - OTC head, (l-r) during the signing of the agreement.*Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez on Monday, September 25, said the city government will conduct a dry run this week on using the Grab ride-hailing platform to book the use of city government vehicles.“I signed last Sept. 21 an agreement with Grab Philippines for the local government unit (LGU) to use their app (application) for our MABB Cab. All authorized users can use the Grab app and access the fleet of government vehicles. We have a technical group coordinating with them. Supposedly, this week there will be a dry run,” he said ...

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson has granted the request of Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez for the use of the provincial government’s Paglaum Stadium for the MassKara Festival in October.Lacson, in a letter to Benitez on Monday, September 25, granted his request for the use of the Paglaum Stadium free of charge for the MassKara Arena Dance Competition and closing rites on October 22.The governor also granted the closure of the North and South Capitol roads to establish the Lacson Tourism Strip from October 19 to 22.“By closing these roads temporarily to vehicular traffic, we can create a vibrant and pedestrian-friendly space that will attract both locals and tourists,” Benitez had said in his request for the road closures.The provincial government will als...

Vincent Parra, CHR-Negros Occidental head*Murder charges have not been filed against the persons behind the massacre of the Fausto family in Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan City, on June 24 because their relatives can no longer be found, Vincent Parra, CHR-Negros Occidental head, said on Monday, September 25.Killed in the massacre were farmer Rolly Fausto, 52, his wife, Emilda, 49, and their sons Ben, 11, and Raben, 15.Parra said he was informed that the murder charges could not be filed by the police as Emily, the daughter of the Faustos, could not be located to grant her consent and is believed to no longer be in Negros Occidental.However, Parra believes the police can still file the murder charges even without the participation of the Fausto kin.The only charge ...

Brig. Gen. Sidney Villaflor, Regional Director of the Police Regional Office 6, (center) at a press conference on Monday.*PNA photoThe Regional Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee (RLECC) in Western Visayas will draft a resolution detailing strategies to tighten the campaign against the entry of illegal drugs in the region, particularly in piers and airports.“We will come up with policies on how we deal with that,” Brig. Gen. Sidney Villaflor, Regional Director of the Police Regional Office 6 (Western Visayas) and chair of the committee, said at a press conference on Monday, September 25.Villaflor said they are “very keen” on their campaign especially since there is a lot of activities happening in the region, including the opening of classes, the MassKara Festival in Bacolo...