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There were 389 acute gastroenteritis (AGE) cases, including 27 cholera cases, recorded in Bacolod City from September 1 to November 26, the City Health Office reported Wednesday, November 30.The barangays with 10 and above AGE cases from November 1 to 26 are Mansilingan, Tangub, Alijis, Bata, Taculing, Singcang, Pahanocoy, Vista Alegre, Estefania, Granada, Mandalagan, Sum- ag, Cabug, Banago, Villamonte and Handumanan.The CHO also said of the 276 water refiling stations inspected in Bacolod, 107 have no sanitary permits and six were non-operational prior to inspectionThe AGE cases were attributed to poor environmental sanitation, and inadequate supply of safe and clean waterTo address the problem water sources in Bacolod City are being tested and disinfected, the CHO said....

Negros Island has produced a bumper crop of Nurse Licensure Examination topnotchers.The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announced on Wednesday, November 30, that Abigail Garganta Ramirez of Saint Paul University in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, was ranked No. 1 with a rating of 90 percent.Jezrel Alijid was ranked No. 2, while Carlos Jose Cerrada and Terese Angel Lee were ranked No. 4. All three Bacolodnons graduated from Western Visayas State University - La Paz.Bacolodnon Marian Grace Yap who graduated from the University of Santo Tomas was ranked No. 6.Meanwhile, other graduates of Negros Island schools also in the top ten list are:*No. 5 - Angela Claire Nicolau Kitane of Silliman University;*No. 9 - John Philip Tupas Rollo and Richard Raphael De la Cr...

The Partido Mangagawa Negros protest in front of the Bacolod City Government Center replica at the Bacolod City Public.* Nico Delfin photoTwo protest actions calling for wage increases and slamming the rising prices of basic commodities were held in Bacolod City to mark Andres Bonifacio Day on Wednesday, November 30.The Partido Manggagawa (PM) Negros members held a “blank paper protest” in front of the replica of the Bacolod City Government Center at the Bacolod City Public.They are pressing for a labor agenda that remains blank or absent in the Marcos administration, Priscilla Goco, secretary-general of PM Negros said.The labor agenda includes demands for a wage hike, labor rights and an end to contractualization, affordable and quality public services, and mechanisms for ...

Senator Imee Marcos, accompanied by Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer, distributes Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) in Bago City*CPG photoSenator Imee Marcos announced the allocation of P6 million in Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) in Negros Occidental, and said P5 million in agricultural aid will also be given to each local government unit in the Fourth District.Marcos was joined by Negros Occidental Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer and officials of the Fourth District in the distribution of the assistance to 1,000 of the 2,000 AICS beneficiaries at the Bago City Coliseum on Tuesday, November 29.They received P3,000 each from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Marcos said.There were 500 beneficiaries from Bago City, 380 from...

The drugs recovered in San Carlos City on Tuesday.*San Carlos PNP photoFour persons, including three street-level individuals, were arrested in a drug bust operation at Ylagan Extension, Brgy. 6, San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, Tuesday, November 29.Nabbed were Charles Castro, 20, Jason Sabellano,22, and Orly Escuadro, 32, all tagged as street-level individuals, and 18-year-old Christian Fajardo.The suspects yielded 20 grams of illegal drugs worth P136,000, an improvised tooter, and a disposable lighter, the police said.The suspects are now in the custody of the San Carlos police and are facing drug charges.*

The driver Rep. Arnolfo "Arnie" Teves (Neg. Or., 3rd District) was gunned down in Sta. Catalina town in Negros Oriental on Monday, November 28.Killed was Juvanie Catubay, 38, of Barangay Poblacion. He was on his way home on board a motorcycle, but when he stopped by a store, he was attacked by unidentified riding-in-tandem suspects.Police said the victim was shot multiple times.Recovered from the scene were 10 fired bullets of a 5.56 caliber firearm, a fired bullet and a deformed slug of a .45 caliber gun.Teves confirmed that the victim was his driver, and he called on authorities to investigate further the killing.Col. Reynaldo Lizardo, newly-installed Negros Oriental police director, said that the Provincial Investigation and Detection Management Group along with loca...

Bago City Mayor Nicholas Yulo*The annual “Lights of Bago” celebration to usher in the New Year has been cancelled as part of the cost cutting measures of Bago City that will face a National Tax Allotment cut in 2023, Mayor Nicholas Yulo said Tuesday, November 29.It will be the second year that the spectacular New Year fireworks show in Bago City will have been cancelled since the COVID-19 pandemic.He said the NTA cut in the 2023 share of Bago City is about P250 million.The performance of city employees will not be affected by the cut, but there will be certain projects that they will not be able to implement, Yulo said.The Sangguniang Panlungsod has approved an about P1.2 billion budget for the Bago City government in 2023, he added.Yulo said the amount of the yeare...

Lawyer Lyzander “Bong” Dilag*Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez confirmed on Tuesday, November 29, that his spokesman, lawyer Lyzander “Bong” Dilag has resigned.He officially resigned for health reasons effective immediately, he was not fired, Benitez said.Benitez said he will act as his own spokesman.The city government has not hired lawyer Jopet Sison, a TV presenter, and politician who was formerly assistant general manager of the National Housing Authority and president of National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation, Benitez said.Sison ran for senator in the May polls and lost. There is a one year ban on hiring persons who ran for office, Benitez pointed out.“He is a good friend and is helping and sharing his expertise in his field…we need all the help we can...

The cholera cases in Negros Occidental are now 59, with 12 new confirmed cases, the Provincial Health Office reported on Tuesday, November 29.Talisay City remains the topnotcher with 22 confirmed cholera cases.Other areas in the Third District of Negros Occidental with confirmed cholera cases are Silay City with 21, including one death, EB Magalona – nine, including one death, and Victorias City with three.In the Second District Cadiz City has three confirmed cholera cases and Manapla has one, the PHO reported.*

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Benitez, DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar and Pag-IBIG Chief Executive Officer Marilene C. Acosta (l-r) sign the MOU.*Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Tuesday, November 29, that discussions are underway on how to make the monthly amortization for the 10,000 housing units to be built in Bacolod City affordable to Informal Settler Families.Benitez recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between Bacolod City, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development and Pag-IBIG for the P10 billion housing program for Bacolod.The MOA spells out the details on how to proceed with the housing project involving 10,000 units committed by PagIBIG, which were not contained in the earlier Memorandum of Understanding, Benitez said.The standard P...