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Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, the chairperson of the Regional Development Council-Western Visayas (RDC-6), has proposed the creation of a body to regulate fishing activities in the Guimaras Strait, one of the most important fishing grounds in the country which supports fisherfolk from Panay, Guimaras and Negros Occidental."One of my proposals is to have a Guimaras Strait Commission. For the entire Guimaras Strait, there would be just one entity that would regulate them," Benitez said on Tuesday, March 21, adding that the matter will be discussed in the upcoming RDC-6 quarterly meeting.The proposed body will include the cities of Bacolod and Iloilo as well as the provinces of Iloilo, Guimaras and Negros Occidental."(We will) come together and agree among ourselves to h...

The fire at San Mateo Village, Brgy. Banago, Tuesday morning. *Chamber Volunteer Fire Brigade photoFire destroyed a house at San Mateo Village, Brgy. Banago, Bacolod City, 6:52 a.m. Tuesday, March 21.The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Bacolod placed the losses at P1.2 million.The owner of the house is Janet Almajon and occupants were the family of Genelyn Castandello, the BFP reported.Castandello said before the fire they experienced power outages and the breaker in the house tripped off, FO1 Rolin Paulan said.When she turned on the breaker she heard noise coming from the ceiling of the dirty kitchen and tried to turn it off again but flames appeared and rapidly spread, he added.The house was built on an about 80 square meter lot.No one was hurt, Paulan said.*

Power Watch Negros has high expectations that a proposed joint venture agreement (JVA) with Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO) will mean efficient services for its consumers, PWN secretary general Wennie Sancho said Tuesday, March 21.The unsolicited JVA proposal of MORE Electric and Power Corp. and Manila Electric Co. was submitted to the National Electrification Administration (NEA) for guidance, CENECO acting general manager Arnel Lapore said earlier. CENECO is still waiting for NEA’s reply, he said.Sancho said most of CENECO's substations are in derelict condition and are approaching maximum capacity.The substation protection features do not include a transformer differential protection that protects the power transformers from internal and external faults. There h...

The city government is aiming to put up 430 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to cover all critical areas in Bacolod this year, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez said on Monday, March 20.The CCTVs will ensure faster response to crimes and calamities, he said.Bacolod currently has 85 CCTV cameras but he is not sure how many are still functioning, Benitez said.What is important is that the CCTVs will have the capacity for facial recognition and to capture plate numbers of vehicles, especially of those involved in hit and run incidents, he said.Col. Thomas Joseph Martir, Bacolod police director, is about to exit Bacolod, he said.Benitez said he wants Bacolod to have a good police director who can act on the unsolved crimes in the city.Meanwhile, Benitez sai...

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos at a press conference of Task Force Degamo.*DILG photoA former soldier believed to have critical information and is one of the main players in the murder of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo has surrendered to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.The suspect strengthens the testimonies of other witnesses who earlier surrendered, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos said at a press conference of Task Force Degamo on Monday, March 20.“We were told that the suspect has vital and critical information that we hope will pave way for the resolution of this case the soonest possible time,” Abalos said.Gen. Andres Centino, chief of staff of the Armed Force...

Committee on Ethics chair Felimon Espares tells reporters Teves has until 4 p.m. or 5 p.m. on Tuesday to appear.*The House Committee on Ethics and Privileges on Monday, March 20, gave 24 hours for Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. (Neg. Or., 3rd District, to personally appear at the House of Representatives amid his lapsed travel authority.Committee chair Felimon Espares warned that disciplinary sanctions will be meted out to Teves if he refuses to return to work despite the expiration of his travel authority on March 9.Teves, who is being linked to the killing of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo, has been out of the country since February and has reportedly refused to come back, citing threats to his life.“As per approved by the committee, we will just inform you that we will extend ...

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez at a press conference on Monday, March 20.*Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Monday, March 20, that he expects Central Negros Electric Cooperative’s (CENECO) power rates to further drop.CENECO’s P13.6716/kWh power rate for March is P2.63 lower than the P16.2972/kWh in November, he said.Benitez said since October last year he has been actively pursuing ways to bring down electricity rates in Bacolod City.In January he wrote the Energy Regulatory Commission and CENECO questioning the two different rates coming from Palm Concepcion Power Corp. and asked if PCPC was charging the cooperative the right rate, Benitez pointed out.He said the PCPC owner thanked him for the letter because through it they were able to renegotiate...

The water meters obstructing the flow of traffic in the expanded section of Lopez Jaena Street.*Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez is eyeing the construction of a housing facility that will also have an area for the furniture shops located at Lopez Jaena Street in Bacolod City, to ease traffic.Solutions to the traffic problems at the University of Saint La Salle (USLS) and St. Scholastica’s Academy (SSA) areas are also being discussed, he said at a press conference on Monday, March 20.The mayor met with the furniture shop owners at Lopez Jaena Street on Friday, March 17, following complaints that they were obstructing part of the road, which is causing heavy traffic in the area with Department of Public Works and Highways’ repairs also underway on the opposite lane.The shop own...

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez at the Handumanan Public Cemetery Sunday night* Albee Benitez FB page photoThe Bacolod City government will rehabilitate the Handumanan Public Cemetery that is in a dismal state and find a new site for the disposal of medical waste, Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said Monday, March 20.The mayor, who inspected the cemetery Sunday night, said he wanted to see for himself what condition it is in and found it in a very poor state. “Its physical appearance speaks a lot how we treat our dead,” he said.There are no lights and facilities at the cemetery, Benitez also noted.A meeting was held Monday afternoon to discuss how to upgrade the cemetery, which has been neglected for a long time, he said.The City Engineer’s Office will com...