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Mayor Alfredo Abelardo "Albee" Benitez has suspended the officer-in-charge of the Bacolod City Department of Public Services (DPS) and a driver for availing of fuel for a bulldozer that does not work, City Legal Officer Romeo Carlos Ting said on Friday, November 25.Preventively suspended for 60 days are DPS officer-in-charge Ramil Palalon and driver Darwin Cardones, who have been given three days to respond to the formal charges against them.Palalon is facing charges for gross neglect of duty and grave misconduct, and Cardones for less serious dishonesty and grave misconduct, Ting said.They were charged for withdrawing fuel nine times during the previous administration for a city government bulldozer that does not work , he said.The fuel withdrawn was worth P53,798, Ting sa...

The P5.1 billion budget of Negros Occidental and P3.25 billion budget of Bacolod City for 2023 are expected to be approved in early December.The Negros Occidental Sangguniang Panlalawigan is expected to approve the provincial government’s budget on second and third reading on December 6, Board Member Rommel Debulgado, SP Committee on Finance chairman, said on Friday, November 25.The deliberations on the budget proposed by Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, which they have found justifiable, have been completed, he said.Debulgado said of the P5.1 billion, the proposed General Fund Budget for 2023 is P4,952,981,428, while the annual operating budget of the Economic Enterprise Development Department is P190,379,525.15.The 2023 budget is P766 million or 12.87 percent less compared to th...

The remains of a killed NPA leader was turned over to his family.*303rd IB photoThe remains of killed New People’s Army leader Victoriano Baldonado was turned over by government forces to his family at Saint Francis Funeral Homes in Brgy Poblacion, Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental, on Tuesday, November 22.Baldonado, who was killed in an encounter with state forces at Sitio Banderahan, Brgy Trinidad on November 21, was the commanding officer of the Section Guerrilla Unit (SGU), Central Negros Front 1 (CN1), Komiteng Rehiyon Negros, Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor (KR-NCBS), which operates in the tri-boundaries of Guihulngan City, Canlaon City, both of Negros Oriental, and Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental.The family of the rebel expressed their gratitude for the proper handling of the...

The scene of the fire at Purok Kitahanun, Brgy. Banago, Bacolod City. last night,*Mark Chiu photoTen houses were destroyed and four were damaged in a fire that hit Purok Kitahanun, Brgy. Banago, Bacolod City, at 6:54 p.m. Thursday, November 24, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) reported.The houses were made of light materials.Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez visited the fire victims who were evacuated to a multipurpose building in Purok Mahimulaton, Banago, to check on their situation.Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez visits the fire victims who evacuated.*The fire affected 14 families and the initial estimated damage was placed at P75,000, the BFP said.Social workers were listing the names of the victims and seeing to their needs, the Department of Soc...

The scene of the ambush in Sipalay City on Thursday.*Two Army intelligence operatives were killed in an ambush at So. Camboguiot, Barangay Camindangan, Sipalay City, Negros Occidental, at 11 a.m. Thursday, November 24.Killed were Sgt. Regie Glendro and Sgt. Ken Camilan of the 47th Infantry Battallion based in Barangay Haba, Candoni, the police reported.The police said the two soldiers on board a motorcycle were conducting reconnaissance operations in Sitio Camboguiot.When they reached the curved part of the uphill road, they were attacked by a group of armed men.They were shot in different parts of their body that resulted in their instantaneous death, the police added.The armed men fled immediately.The police are still investigating the incident.*

The suspects in the robbery of a 60-year-old businessman in Ilog town.*Ilog PNP photosFour persons were charged for robbing a 60-year-old businessman in Barangay Galicia, Ilog, Negros Occidental, on Tuesday, November 22.Charged were Jerrymar Gonzales, Rj Villarma, Argie Dela Peña and Ryan Susano.The victim was walking down the street to buy pork when he was waylaid and robbed by the suspects, who carted away P30,000 in cash, the police said.The suspects said they asked the victim to join them for a drink but when he declined, they targeted him.The suspects were immediately arrested in a police pursuit operation as the victim recognized them.*

Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho, OIC Health Undersecretary, reminds the public to take precautions during the holidays.*RIchard Malihan photoThe Department of Health is reminding the public, especially those who are immunocompromised, to take precautions against COVID-19 at large gatherings during the holidays.“During the holidays we expect to gather with families and friends…We need to know what our own risks are,” Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho, OIC Health Undersecretary, said Thursday, November 24.“If you have comorbidities or live with persons with comorbidities, we ask you to be more careful now that mask wearing is optional”, said Ho, who was in Bacolod for the Negros Occidental Universal Health Care Summit.She said it is highly recommended that persons who are immunocompromised, or...

Rep. Mercedes Alvarez (Neg. Occ., 6th District)The House of Representatives is waiting for the position paper of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on the proposed bills to create a Negros Island Region (NIR), Rep. Mercedes Alvarez (Neg. Occ., 6th District) said on Thursday, November 24.“The most important paper is the one from the DBM, nothing will happen if there are no funds,” she said.Rep. Rex Gatchalian (Valenzuela City, 1st District), chairman of the House Committee on Local Government, has appointed Alvarez co-chair of the Technical Working Group (TWG) tasked with consolidating the NIR bills.Alvarez said Negros Oriental has also not submitted its position paper yet.The TWG is doing its best to follow up the submission of the position papers but there a...

Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho, OIC Health Undersecretary, and Renato Limsiaco Jr., PhilHealth senior vice president, at the Negros Occidental Universal Health Care Summit in Bacolod City on Thursday.*Richard Malihan photoThe Philippine Health Insurance Corp. will be allocating billions of pesos for the primary health care of Negrenses with the implementation of the Universal Health Care (UHC) law, a PhilHealth official said Thursday, November 24.So far PhilHealth has accredited 19 consultation clinics in Negros Occidental to serve the primary health care needs of Negrenses, and there are six more with pending applications, Renato Limsiaco Jr., PhilHealth senior vice president on UHC administration, said.Limsiaco and Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho, , OIC Health Undersecretary, were among the...