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The Bacolod City government is planning to make mandatory drug testing a requirement for the hiring of job order (JO) workers, City Administrator Pacifico Maghari III said Thursday, August 3.JO appointments are approved on a monthly or quarterly basis depending on their need, he said.This developed after 49 JO workers and four regular employees of the city government assigned to the Bacolod Traffic Authority Office (BTAO) and the Public Order and Safety Office (POSO) tested positive for the use of illegal drugs.The JO workers were terminated from their jobs while the regular employees were placed under 60-day preventive suspensions pending investigation, Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Wednesday.Retired police general Primitivo Tabujara, who is the POSO head,...

A Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod committee is set to hold a hearing on a proposed memorandum of agreement for the designation of the Bacolod Yuhum Foundation as the over-all organizer of the 2023 MassKara Festival, Councilor Al Victor Espino said Thursday, August 3.The SP Committee on Laws, Ordinances and Good Government chaired by Espino will conduct the hearing on Monday.Espino said he will ask the foundation to submit a report on last year’s MassKara Festival, which the SP has not received, and to also give a perspective on what to expect in this year’s festival.The foundation will also be required to submit a report after the staging of the 2023 MassKara Foundation, he added.The SP should also be informed on who constitute the Bacolod Yuhum Foundation because they don...

Barangay Captain Joseph Delos Santos of Barangay 16 in Bacolod City has been suspended for another six months for gross neglect of duty effective immediately, Bacolod Councilor Al Victor Espino said on Thursday, August 3.The Committee on Laws, Ordinances, and Good Government of the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod chaired by Espino in its order on Wednesday, August 2, suspended Delos Santos for five unjustified consecutive absences from barangay sessions in violation of the provisions of the Local Government Code of 1991.The administrative complaint was filed against him by Barangay 16 kagawads Stella De La Peña, Franz Familiaran, Jude Bryan Alson, Cristina Ligaya, Jie Rodolfo Madrigal, Ermelo Alintano, and Winsie Jesson Billones“To be held liable for gross negligence, a public o...

The Department of Education (DepEd) announced on Thursday, August 3, that opening of classes for the school year (SY) 2023-2024 in all public schools will be on August 29.Private schools may opt to open their classes from the first Monday of June, but not later than the last day of August this year under Republic Act 11480, the DepEd said.DepEd Assistant Secretary for Field Operations Francis Cesar Bringas said they still have to gather data on the exact number of enrollees in the coming school year, but noted that students in certain grade levels were already pre-registered."In the public schools, meron tayong (we have) early registration for kinder, grade 1, grade 7, and grade 11. All other grades (are) automatically enrolled for next school year. Two weeks before opening, th...

The Negros Occidental Provincial Health Office is waiting for more bivalent vaccines from the Department of Health (DOH) so it can begin providing added protection against COVID-19 to senior citizens who belong to the A2 category, Dr. Girlie Pinongan, Provincial Health Office OIC, said on Thursday, August 3.The PHO initially allocated the bivalent vaccines that arrived to workers at provincial government hospitals, she said.Personnel of the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital have had their bivalent jabs and the other provincial government-run hospitals have been advised to pick up their supply by Friday, she said.The rest of the vaccines will then be turned over for the use of health workers in the provincial, city and town health offices, she said.The national gover...

A flooded area in Bago City, Negros Occidental, following heavy rains due to the combined effects of southwest monsoon and Typhoon Egay last week.*Farmers in Western Visayas (Region 6) have reported P70.444 million in production losses due to heavy rains and floods brought about by the combined effects of southwest monsoon and Typhoon Egay in the past week.Data from the Department of Agriculture (DA) released by the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC-6) on Thursday, August 3, showed the amount translates to 2,732.8 metric tons in terms of volume lost for rice and other crops.There were no damaged infrastructure, machinery and equipment, based on the report.Of the total production losses, the highest was reported in Negros Occidental amounting t...

The Negros Occidental provincial government is also set to conduct random drug tests amid unverified reports that there are some employees engaged in the use and peddling of drugs, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Wednesday, August 2.The drug tests will will determine if the rumors on the use and sale of drugs are true or not, he said.The Provincial Human Resource Management Office has been instructed to coordinate with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in identifying target groups among the employees for testing, he said.The Capitol is set to conduct the bidding for the purchase of the drug tests kits, he said.There was no bidder during the first bidding conducted, Diaz said.The provincial government is asking PDEA for a list of its accredited...

The are 10 out of 31 local government units in Negros Occidental that remain African Swine Fever (ASF) free, and the number of daily pig deaths from various diseases in the province are now at a single digit, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said on Wednesday, August 2.He said the drop of daily pig deaths to four on Tuesday and seven in Cauayan town on Wednesday was a welcome development.The marching orders of Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Benitez was to bring the pig deaths down to 10 and below, or to pre-ASF levels, he said.Diaz congratulated the Provincial Veterinary Office for hitting that target.He said the 10 LGUs that remain ASF-free in Negros Occidental are Salvador Benedicto, Calatrava, Toboso, Escalante City, Sagay Cit...

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson is set to deliver his State of the Province Address (SOPA) on Tuesday, August 8.The governor will deliver the SOPA during the regular session of the Sangguniang Panlalalwigan at the Capitol in Bacolod City.The governor is expected to report on the progress of his flagship projects and other programs for Negros Occidental, Provincial Administrator Rayrfando Diaz he said.It will be a low key event, he said.Meanwhile, Diaz said the construction of the new seven-story Provincial Administration Center at Aguinaldo Street in Bacolod City is on schedule.The building and its furnishings will cost P1.2 billion, he said.The new PAC will house provincial government offices but the governor may continue to hold office at the Capitol bu...

The Bacolod City government distributed 184 desktop computer sets worth P18.3 million to 72 public learning resource centers.Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Wednesday, August 2, that the assistance for the 72 recipient schools under the Department of Education Schools Division of Bacolod (DepEd-Bacolod) aims to help improve the quality of education for public school learners."Electronic equipment and gadgets are no longer a luxury. These are already a necessity, especially for students," he said.Benitez said each school received at least two computer sets.Funded by the Special Education Fund, each desktop computer set, which comes with a printer and uninterruptible power supply device, costs P99,470.Of the 184 desktop computer sets, 92 units were given to various...