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Recent rice prices in Bacolod City*Ronnie Baldonado photoThe rice price cap ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will take effect Tuesday, September 5, Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said Monday.Executive Order No. 39 issued by Marcos mandates a price cap for regular milled rice at P41 per kilo and P45 for well-milled rice.The price cap is good for consumers but could affect retailers who bought their stock at higher prices, Lacson said.But he also noted that the national government has announced plans to provide subsidy to rice retailers.Qualified small rice retailers affected by the mandated price ceilings on rice in the country are expected to receive financial assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatch...

Deaths from leptospirosis in Bacolod City have increased to 12, the City Health Office reported on Monday, September 4.The latest fatality is a 32-year-old male from Barangay 14 who was exposed to contaminated water on August 16 and died on August 25.The 12 leptospirosis fatalities were from barangays Banago, Handumanan, Villamonte, Bata, Pahanocoy, Granada, Singcang, 14, 6, and Tangub, the CHO said.There were also 54 other Bacolod residents hit with suspected leptospirosis who survived, the CHO added.Leptospirosis is caused by the leptospira spirochetes that are acquired from infected urine or feces of animals such as rats that contaminate food, water and soil, the Department of Health said."Its symptoms are fever, pain in various muscle parts, headache, red eyes. In s...

NONECO personnel working to restore power to the three LGUs on Sunday.*John Deles FB page photoVictorias Mayor Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez on Monday, September 4, stressed the need for the Northern Negros Electric Cooperative to upgrade its equipment or have a backup transformer to prevent a repeat of the six-day blackout that hit three northern Negros towns.John Deles, NONECO area operations manager, said as of Sunday night, they had restored power to EB Magalona, Victorias City and Manapla.However, during the gradual restoration it was detected by their technical engineers that Feeder No. 1 in Victorias was experiencing fault lines. Power in the Victorias areas covered by Feeder 1 was finally fully restored Monday afternoon, Deles said.The blackout was triggered by the e...

Bago City is now under a state of calamity, Mayor Nicholas Yulo said Monday, September 4.The Bago Sangguniang Panlungsod declared the state of calamity during its special session Monday afternoon, he said.The City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council recommended the declaration on Friday, citing the extent of the Typhoon “Goring” damage to Bago City.“Goring” caused P196,858,961 in damage to Bago City, Dr. Merijene Ortizo, Bago CDRRM action officer, said.Damage to infrastructure was P54,060,800, high value crops - P1,368,555, rice- P135,233,707, fisheries - P824,999 and livestock -P5,370,900, Ortizo said.There were also 5,967 affected families with 23,302 members in 20 of Bago City’s 24 barangays, she said.The “Goring” induced rains destroyed 78 houses and dama...

A choreographer was shot dead in a subdivision in Brgy. Villamonte, Bacolod City, early Monday morning, September 4.Jury Orario, 37, a choreographer and a former Bacolod City government job order worker, was shot at Greensville Subdivision at about 1:30 a.m., the police reportedMaj. Nestor Bacuyang, Bacolod Police Station 4 chief, said that they are looking at two persons of interest who might have been involved in the incident.The victim was shot on the back of his head, the police reported.The motive of the shooting is not yet clear, however, the police are looking at the victim’s possible illegal drugs involvement or a personal grudge, Bacuyang said.Bacuyang said that he is coordinating with the other police stations in Bacolod to verify the reports of the victim’s i...

Victorias Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez, Dr. Ma. Cristina Orbecido, Gladys Reyes, Director Ermelinda Pollentes, Yvette M. Cabrera, Dr. Frances Mae Llamas and Undersecretary Jocelle Batapa-Sigue (l-r) at the Digital Careers Expo in Victorias City.*A Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) official urged students in Negros Occidental’s Third District to engage in IT-related courses to help create an innovation-driven economy.DICT Undersecretary Jocelle Batapa-Sigue urged the more than a thousand students from the Third District to be part of the growing IT industry in the country during the Digital Careers Expo in Victorias City on Monday, September 4.The DICT target is to reach 2.5 million employed in the IT-BPM industry in the country by 2024.Batapa-Sig...

The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office awarded the Silay City and E.B. Magalona police stations as the top performing police stations in the province for June and July during their flag-raising ceremony at Camp Alfredo Montelibano Sr. in Brgy. Estefania, Bacolod City, on Monday, September 4.The Silay City Police Station is the top-performing component city station, while the E.B. Magalona Police Station is the top-performing municipal police station in the province for June and July this year.This was based on the province-wide Unit Performance Evaluation Rating (UPER) conducted by NOCPPO.The award was given to Silay Police Chief Lt. Col. Mark Anthony Darroca and E.B. Magalona Police Chief Maj. Kenneth Gratones.The E.B. Magalona Police Station has been the top munic...

PACE chairman Ruben Diamante (right) announces the purging of the PACE membership at a press conference on Monday, September 4.*The Progressive Alliance of Capitol Employees (PACE) has purged its former chairman and eight chiefs of hospital from its list of members.PACE members should be rank and file employees and the nine hold supervisory positions in the provincial government, PACE chairman Ruben Diamante said on Monday, September 4.Purged from the list was Renelo Lastierre, former chairman and current director of PACE. PACE Resolution 2023-036, Series of 2023, dated September 1 said Lastierre holds the position of Special Operations Officer IV in charge of the supervision of personnel of the Safety and Security Division.Diamante also cited a Malacañang issued executiv...

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson is appealing to parents to enroll their children amid the drop in school enrollment in Negros Occidental.“Education is still the best investment that parents can give to their children,” Lacson said on Monday, September 4.The Negros Occidental Schools Division currently has 304,877 enrollees or 90 percent of its target, its spokesperson Ian Arnold Arnaez said Monday.Last year there were 337,847 students, 312,734 of whom were in public schools and 25,113 in private schools, he said.Lacson said he wants to know why there has been a drop in enrollment. Parents who have not sent their children back to school should be interviewed to determine their reasons, he said.“The drop in enrollment is not good…I hope this can be corrected soon,” Lacson said. ...

NONECO linemen working to restore full power to EB Magalona, Victorias City and Manapla.*NONECO photoNorthern Negros Electric Cooperative was gradually restoring power to Victorias City, EB Magalona and Manapla Sunday night, September 3, after a six-day blackout, NONECO OIC General Manager Dorothy Evangelista said.Power was restored to Victorias City proper, Canetown Subdivision, EB Magalona proper, and Manapla proper as of 10 p.m. Sunday, she said.Their linemen were working on full restoration Sunday night even up to the far flung barangays, she said.Their technical team will give an update Monday morning if there are remaining isolated areas without power, Evangelista said.She said more than 50,000 member consumers of NONECO and their families have been affected by th...