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The Social Security System (SSS) Visayas West 1 Division aims to collect P18.2 million worth of past-due contributions from 52 delinquent employers tagged during its Run After Contribution Evaders (RACE) Campaign in Negros Occidental this month.On Monday 16 delinquent employers in Bacolod were served notices to pay P8.3 million.The violations of the employers are failure to register their business to SSS and non-remittance of their employees’ contribution, Dr. Lilani B. Benedian, SSS Vice President for Visayas West 1 Division, said in a press release Tuesday, June 27.“We intensified our campaign to call out these employers to fulfill their legal obligations. As mandated by the law, they must register their businesses and report for coverage all of their employees regardless of ...

The six tourist destinations in E. B. Magalona, Negros Occidental, drew 79,590 visitors in 2022 - an increase by 198 percent from the 2021 arrivals of 26,718, the Municipal Tourism Office reported.Municipal Tourism Officer- designate Ma. Teresa Alvarez presented the report on tourist arrivals in E. B. Magalona for 2022, during the 2nd Quarter Meeting of Tourism Officers of Negros Occidental at the Provincial Capitol last week, a press release from the town said Tuesday, June 27.Alvarez said there were 52,872 more visitors in 2022 compared to the 2021 arrivals, with the bulk of the figure coming from the Tomongtong Mangrove Eco-Trail with 49,967 visitors.“We’re glad our local tourism industry is starting to get back to its feet after the pandemic”, EB Magalona Mayor Marvin Malac...

Power rates in two electric cooperatives in Negros Occidental have dropped this month.The Central Negros Electric Cooperative announced a P0.1802 per kilowatt-hour decrease in its power rates this month, from P12.9367/kWh to P12.7835/kWh.CENECO, in a press release, attributed the decrease to a drop in transmission charges by P0.0615/kWh due to a decrease in ancillary service charges and a decline in Value Added Taxes by P0.0233.The Northern Negros Electric Cooperative also announced a decrease in electricity rates by P0.4238/kWh from P13.1355/kWh to P12.7106/kWh.NONECO attributed the drop to the 3.23 percent decrease in the generation rate, and decrease in fuel costs of power generating plants.Meanwhile, south-Negros power distributor Negros Occidental Electric Cooperat...

Sugar industry stakeholders on Tuesday, June 27, called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to deny Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno’s plan to liberalize sugar importation, saying it will destabilize the livelihood of thousands of marginal sugarcane farmers.“Liberalization will be the final nail in the coffin of the country's ailing sugar industry,” Danilo Ramos, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas chairperson, said.Manuel Lamata - United Sugar Producers Federation of the Philippines (UNIFED) president, Enrique Rojas – National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) president, Aurelio Valderrama Jr. - Confederation of Sugar Producers' Associations (CONFED) president and KMP in separate statements aired their opposition to Diokno’s move.UNIFED is appealing to the president to ignor...

Two persons were stabbed to death in separate barangays in Cauayan town, Negros Occidental, Saturday night, June 24.Orly Estrabela, 37, was stabbed by his brother, Ronel, 34, after a commotion in the middle of a drinking session in the suspect’s house in Brgy Tiling, the police reported Monday.After the commotion, Orly went out of his brother’s house but Ronel followed and stabbed him with a knife on different parts of his body, the police said.The victim was brought to the Cauayan District Hospital but was declared dead on arrival.PSSgt. Mark Mabayad said Ronel is detained at the Cauayan Police Station.The family might opt for a settlement instead of pursuing charges against Ronel, Mabayad said.Meanwhile, Pedro Allera, 34, was stabbed with a bolo on his chest witho...

The number of barangays hit with pig deaths from various diseases in Negros Occidental increased to 143 on Monday, June 26.The latest to be hit was Barangay 1 Poblacion in Isabela town, a Provincial Veterinary Office report said.There were 151 new pig deaths on Monday bringing the total in Negros Occidental to 14,581, it added.Total hog raisers affected were 2,922 and losses were at P164,372,425, the PVO said.*

Commission on Human Rights investigators have not been able to locate the lone surviving daughter of the Fausto family, CHR-Negros Occidental head Vincent Parra, said on Monday, June 26.The CHR is conducting a separate probe into the killing of Rolly Fausto, 52, his wife Emilda, 49, and their sons aged 11 and 15 years old in Sitio Kangkiling, Brgy. Buenavista, Himamaylan City, on June 14.Emily, the daughter of the Faustos, had reported the killing of her parents and siblings to the police.Parra said they could not find her in Brgy Buenavista and they were told by the police that they did not know where she was.PLt. Col. Reynante Jomocan, Himamaylan police chief, said on Saturday that Emily was staying with relatives.Parra said they have not yet verified reports that the...

The dengue deaths in Negros Occidental this year have reached four, with the latest reported in Silay City this month, Dr. Girlie Pinongan, Provincial Health Office OIC, said Monday, June 26.The three other deaths were reported in Himamaylan City, San Carlos City and Calatrava, she said.Dengue cases in Negros OccidentaI this year were 557 as of June 10, or a decrease by 55.30 percent compared to the same period in 2022, Pinongan said.San Carlos City has the highest number of dengue cases with 78, she added.She stressed the need to continue to practice cleanliness and to remove possible breeding places of mosquitoes that are the carries of dengue.There have been no Japanese encephalitis virus cases reported in Negros Occidental, which is spread to people through the bite...

The Victorias City government kicked off its Environment Week 2023 celebration on Monday, June 26, and has lined up week-long activities promoting environmental protection and awareness.SP Committee Chair on Environment Councilor Dino Acuña led the pledge to the environment, signifying the commitment of Victoriahanons to protecting and preserving the environment.Acuña said there will be three major events in celebration of Environment Week.There will be a back-to-back signing of a memorandum of agreement with Subay Marketing Inc. for the implementation of the residual plastic recycling system and the Victorias City Water District for the Bamboo Grove and Plantation Project in Gawahon, on Friday, June 30, Acuña said.Following the MOA signing, for the first time ever, Victori...

COVID-19 bivalent vaccines for third booster shots of health workers, especially in hospitals, have arrived in Negros Occidental, Dr. Girlie Pinongan, Provincial Health Office OIC, said Monday, June 26.They are waiting for instructions from the Department of Health although health workers will be the first recipients of the vaccine followed by senior citizens, she said.The bivalent vaccines serve as protection against other COVID-19 strains, Pinongan added.The bivalent vaccines that arrived in Negros Occidental were few and as of now will not cover all health workers, she said.The government of Lithuania donated 391,860 doses of Comirnaty Pfizer-BioNTech-adapted bivalent vaccines to the Philippines through the World Health Organization-led COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (C...