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Bacolod City Water District terminated employees held a picket in front of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) national office on Wednesday, April 12, to demand action on their pending case for “illegal termination” after BACIWA signed a joint venture agreement with Prime Water Infrastructure Corp. in 2020.The CSC regional office decision ruled that the employees were illegally terminated and should be reinstated but BACIWA appealed the decision, a press release from Leny Rojo Espina, Bacolod City Water District Employees Union (BEU) president said."Delaying the decision is a grave social injustice to the employees. The delay in rendering decisions smells rotten how the rich and powerful like Manuel Villar hold the necks of government officials to protect their interest", she said. ...

Police have identified three members of the New People’s Army as persons of interest in the killing of a civilian in a remote area of Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental, Tuesday, April 11.Lt. Col. Romeo Cubo, Guihulngan police chief, said the victim, Armando Duran Babor, was a former NPA supporter but had already turned away from the insurgency movement.Three armed men shot and killed the 33-year-old Babor while having breakfast with his wife inside their house at Sitio Mag-ubay in Barangay Maniak, Guihulngan City.The armed men fled towards the mountainous part of Barangay Calupaan in Guihulngan.Police recovered three empty shells of caliber 5.56 mm.Cubo said they are gathering more information before the filing of charges against the suspects and declined to elaborate fu...

The CENRO Cadiz installing the Notice of Violation signage.*DENR photoA Notice of Violation (NOV) and stoppage of illegal construction within the Northern Negros Natural Park (NNNP) at So. Pakol, Brgy. Celestino Villacin, Cadiz City in Negros Occidental has been issued.The Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region 6 and the Cadiz City Community ENR Office halted the construction of a two-storey concrete house owned by Florante Halipa, while the lot claimant is Francisco Villanueva, a DENR report said Wednesday, April 12.The structure is situated within the jurisdiction of NNNP-Multiple Use Zone (MUZ), and a Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) clearance or permit from the DENR-Protected Area Superintendent (PASu) Office is required and should have been obtained p...

City government directs contractors to give 48-hour notice before road destruction is undertaken.*Levi Trio photoThe Bacolod government is closely monitoring all road and drainage construction work in the city to ensure that safety measures versus accidents and completion deadlines are met.They are also sending letters to contractors to give the city government 48-hour notice before road demolition work is undertaken so traffic can be rerouted and the public forewarned, City Administrator Pacifico Maghari III said on Tuesday, April 11.Contractors implementing city government road and drainage projects will be penalized for delays in completion, he said.They are reviewing city government projects because Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has directed the imposition of penalties...

Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer, right.*Negros Occidental Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer said on Tuesday, April 11, that he would welcome Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson’s joining the United Negros Alliance, but pointed out that the coalition between UNegA and Love Negros remains strong.“If he joins us he would be very welcome,” Ferrer, who is UNegA president, said.He pointed out that in the past UNegA was the only political group in the province until Love Negros was created, and he has no problem with whomever joins the group.Lacson is a member of Love Negros.The vice governor was reacting to a statement of Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante, UNegA secretary general, that there have been recommendations to invite the governor to join UNegA.But Escalan...

The Easter egg hunt at the Capitol Park in Bacolod City on Sunday.*Richard Malihan photoNegros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson is turning the Capitol Park and Lagoon in Bacolod City into a center for cultural exchanges, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said on Tuesday, April 11.They are working on staging performances at the park to spread the culture and heritage of the province on Fridays, Saturday and Sundays, he said.This is for the cultural development of the youth and is aimed at developing talents, he said.It will also raise the cultural awareness of those who come to watch the shows, Diaz said.“We would like the park to be known later on as a place where culture is abundant and can be experienced,” he said.Also in the pipeline is the showing of fi...

The Panaad sa Negros final meeting with tourism officers and festival coordinators at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City Tuesday morning.*Ronnie Baldonado photoTourism Secretary Christina Frasco and Senator Francis Tolentino will be the guests at the opening of the Panaad sa Negros Festival at the Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod City on April 17.President Ferdinand Marcos and his wife, Liza, will not be able to attend the opening rites and it is not certain yet if they will come at a later date, since the festival will run until April 23, Acting Governor Jeffrey Ferrer said Tuesday, April 11.Ferrer said he has not received a confirmation yet from Vice President Sara Duterte Carpio, who was also invited to the festival.Twenty-seven of the 31 Negros Occidental LGUs have co...

A foreigner was found dead in San Carlos City, while a 38-year-old man drowned in Sipalay City, Negros Occidental, the police reported on Tuesday, April 11.Sukhwinder Singh, 45, an Indian citizen, was found dead at his residence in San Julio Subdivision, Barangay 2, San Carlos City, 10:25 a.m. Monday, April 10.A post-mortem report said his cause of death was cardio respiratory arrest secondary to cardiac dysrhythmia, and alcohol intoxication.Meanwhile, Richard Malalay Paborada, 38, drowned at Sitio Sadlom, Brgy. Camindangan, Sipalay City, at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 9.The victim went to the river near his house to swim and after several minutes, John Paul Valespin, the first cousin of the victim, wondered why he could not see Paborada swimming, the police said.He then qu...