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Acting Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer*Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer will be acting Negros Occidental governor until Sunday, April 16.Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson designated Ferrer acting governor starting Monday, April 10.Lacson said he will be in Australia April 10-16 for personal reasons.“To ensure continuous and effective delivery of basic and social services, it is necessary to designate an acting governor to assume my duties and responsibilities”, Lacson said, in Executive Order 23-11, Series of 2023.The governor will be back for the opening of the Panaad sa Negros Festival on October 17.*

The Social Security System (SSS) Bacolod Branch successfully gained a partnership with another Bacolod City barangay.SSS Bacolod Assistant Branch head Gerard Gonzales and Brgy. Captain Rosinie Distrito of Brgy. Singcang Airport signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the social security protection of the local government unit’s (LGU) job order (JO) and contract of service (COS) workers on March 31, a press release from the SSS said Tuesday, April 11.Under the agreement, JOs/COS workers in the barangay who are not covered by the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) benefits will be registered as self-employed members of SSS. The barangay will remit regularly their SSS contribution through a salary deduction scheme.“We believe that forging partnerships with barangays is ...

Mayors Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and Jerry Treñas (l-r)*Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas ranked No. 1 in a recent independent and non-commissioned “Boses ng Bayan” job performance survey of Western Visayas city mayors conducted by the RP-Mission and Development Foundation Inc. (RPMD).Benitez, “a newcomer to the job but with prior experience as a congressman, has set the bar high with an impressive score of 83.7 percent,” the RPMD said.Treñas who achieved an 82.9 percent score, effectively tied with Benitez in the top spot, it added.Despite being a neophyte in the mayoral position, Benitez demonstrated exceptional leadership and management skills, which have translated into tangible improvements for the citizens of Bacolod City, t...

Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District)*Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) ranked No. 1 with a score of 88.2 percent in the recent independent and non-commissioned “Boses ng Bayan” job performance survey of Western Visayas representatives conducted by the RP-Mission and Foundation Inc. (RPMD).Six other Negros Occidental and Bacolod representatives also made it to the top 10, the survey results showed.Benitez ranked No.1 with two other WV representatives – Lorenz Defensor (Iloilo, 3rd District) and Jam Baronda (Iloilo City).The other representatives from Negros in the top 10 list are:*Rep. Mercedes Alvarez (Neg. Occ., 6th District) - second;*Rep. Juliet Marie Ferrer (Neg. Occ., 4th District) - third;*Rep. Alfredo Marañon III (...

The Barangay Cabacungan Public Market in La Castellana after the fire.* Rep. Dino Yulo FB page photoA fire hit the Barangay Cabacungan Public Market in La Castellana, Negros Occidental, at 1:15 a.m. Monday, April 10.The fire destroyed 18 market stalls and goods estimated at P7 million, SFO3 Eulogio Patriarca, OIC Municipal Fire Marshal, said Tuesday.The fire spread quickly through the stalls that were made of light materials with plywood partitions, he said.Patriarca said the fire could have been caused by faulty electrical wiring or by cooking at one of the stalls.Rep. Emilio Yulo III (Neg. Occ., 5th District) said 17 store owners and five renters were affected by the fire and that he had provided them with financial assistance.Destroyed were a grocery and variety...

Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has extended the ban on live hogs and pork products from Negros Island for another 15 days or until April 20 as the Cebu province continues to battle the African swine fever (ASF) virus in 12 localities, including this capital city.In an executive order (EO) issued Wednesday, Garcia also prohibited the entry of piglets and semen, apart from the live hogs and sows as well as products that contain pork.“The Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard, Cebu Port Authority, Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority, and component cities and municipalities within the territorial jurisdiction of the Province of Cebu are called upon to monitor the strict implementation of this executive order,” the order said.According to the governor, there is a nee...

The Army foiled New People’s Army (NPA) extortion and recovery activities in Northern Negros as an armed clash ensued between the Army's 79th Infantry “Masaligan” Battalion and NPA rebels in Sitio Seraje of Barangay San Isidro, Toboso, Negros Occidental, late Thursday afternoon, April 6.“The encounter transpired after information was given by local residents who are fed up with the NPAs’ forced extortion and deceptive propaganda in their locality”, a 303rd Infantry Brigade statement said Friday.A government trooper was wounded during the gun battle but is now in stable condition at a medical facility in Bacolod City.Government troops seized several war materials, including two homemade shotguns, twomagazines for a shotgun, two live ammunition for shotgun, six medicine kits, six...

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. has been designated to lead the special task force that would maintain peace and order and suppress security threats in the Negros Island.This is pursuant to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s Administrative Order (AO) No. 6 dated April 3, which he issued nearly a month after the March 4 attack that killed Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and eight others.“Based on the said AO, Abalos will stand as the chairperson of the task force while the Secretaries of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of National Defense (DND) will be be the co-chairpersons),’’ the DILG said in a statement Thursday.Abalos asserted that they want to assure the people of the Negros Island that the governmen...

Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez at the Bacolod IT-BPM Conference and Expo Tuesday.*Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez pledged his all-out support for the Information Technology-Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industry in Bacolod City through various measures, including bringing down power rates and providing manpower to meet its standards.Benitez, in his speech at the IT-BPM Conference and Expo at Robinsons Place Cybergate 2 in Bacolod on Tuesday, April 4, said he is also pushing for the creation of a city government economic enterprise department to focus on addressing the needs of the various industries, including the IT-BPM industry.Benitez said the IT-BPM industry that has 30,000 to 35,000 employees in Bacolod is one of the economic drivers of the city “that we must take ca...

Large crowds are expected on Holy Week as reenactments of the crucifixion of Christ take place.*Ronnie Baldonado photoPersonnel of all Disaster Risk Reduction Management Councils (DRRMCs) in Negros Occidental are on heightened alert and on standby for deployment against any untoward incident that may arise during Holy Week.Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson has placed the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council provincial command center and all DRRMCs in the province on blue alert from Wednesday to Monday, April 5 to 10.“In relation to this, all city/municipal DRRMCs are advised to heighten their alert status and to intensify road safety measures,” he said.They should also be on alert for possible deployment of responders and rescuers to different area...