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Brig. Gen. Roderick Augustus Alba*Brig. Gen. Roderick Augustus Alba, who is from Bacolod City, is the new director of the Police Regional Office 7 (Central Visayas).Alba was previously the Public Information Office chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP)."I am confident that Central Visayas is in good hands with General Alba at the helm. His competence, commitment and work ethics bespeak his leadership approach, and so, I entrust him to lead the more than 11, 000 strong personnel of Police Regional Office 7 to raise the bar of excellence in public service," PNP chief Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said.Alba, a member of the Philippine National Police Academy class of 1992, had previously served as the officer-in-charge of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office.*

Residents of Barangay Carabalan, Himamaylan, have been in evacuation centers for a week.*Mayor Raymund Tongson Facebook page photo“In war there are no winners so we are hoping that the situation in Himamaylan will settle down and residents can go back to their respective communities,” Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Wednesday, October 12.The massive evacuation triggered by government and rebel clashes in Barangay Carabalan, Himamaylan City, was unexpected, he said.The governor reiterated his appeal to the rebels to end their armed struggle, pointing out that the government has provided financial assistance to those who have returned to the folds of the law so they can resume normal lives.Lacson said he will ask the Himamaylan City officials why Carabalan ...

Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has submitted the proposed P3.25 billion Bacolod City annual budget for 2023 to the members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod.The proposed budget was calendered in the council’s regular session Wednesday, October 12, and was accepted by the SP committee on appropriations and finance chaired by Councilor Jude Thaddeus Sayson.Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran said that the committee is expected to call for committee hearings, adding that the SP still has two months to approve the proposed budget.He added that the proposed allocation for next year is the same as the current year.The bulk of the proposed budget was allocated to Maintenance and Other Operating Expenditures at P1.413 billion, or 43.51 percent of the fund, followed by Personal Services at P91...

A call center agent was arrested for sextortion on Tuesday, October 11.*A call center agent was arrested in an entrapment operation Tuesday, October 11, for “sextortion.”This, after the suspect allegedly threatened a 19-year-old girl through a text message that her nude photos would be shared on the internet if she would not comply with his demand to have sex.The victim said she sent photos and videos to her chatmate in exchange for P10,000, which she did not receive. She was surprised when the suspect blackmailed her.The police immediately carried out an entrapment operation that resulted to the arrest of 27-year-old Dennis James Traza, an employee of a call center firm in Bacolod.Police Maj. Joery Puerto, Police Station 8 chief, said they got the cell phone from the s...

Real estate tycoon Kevin Tan*Kevin Tan Facebook page photoReal estate tycoon Kevin Tan was declared an “adopted son” of Bacolod City by members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod on Wednesday, October 12.The resolution, authored by Councilor Jason Villarosa, SP Committee on Tourism head, was unanimously passed by the council members during their regular session.The resolution said that Tan is the chief executive officer and vice chairman of Alliance Global Inc., a holding company that includes real estate through Megaworld Corporation, hospitality and property management through Travellers International Hotel Group Inc., and liquor through Emperador Inc., as well as the chief strategy officer of Megaworld Corporation where he spearheads the masterplanning and design of townships, in...

Provincial Health Officer Ernell Tumimbang, Provincial Social Welfare Officer Merle Garcia, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte (l-r) hold a press conference at the Capitol in Bacolod City on Wednesday, October 12.*Richard Malihan photoThe evacuees in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, increased to 18,236 on Wednesday, October 12, as the Army continued its pursuit of rebel forces in the hinterland barangay of Carabalan for the seventh day.A sixth encounter between the 94th Infantry Battalion and the New People’s Army (NPA) in Barangay Carabalan, Himamaylan City, took place at 2:50 p.m. Wednesday, Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, 303rd Brigade commander, said.An encounter between the Army’s 62nd Infantry Battalion and the NPA also took place in Guihulngan...

Bacolod City has two new confirmed cholera cases and 35 suspected cases, the City Health Office (CHO) reported on Wednesday, October 12.The two new confirmed cases are from barangays Tangub and Sum ag, Dr. Grace Tan, CHO Environment Sanitation Division head, said.The first confirmed case in September was a 37-year-old female from Barangay Mansilingan.Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.Water samples were sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) for laboratory examination, she said.The CHO also reported 26 leptospirosis cases in Bacolod this year, of which five patients died.*

Victorias Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez.*Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez has signed an executive order increasing the salaries of job order workers in Victorias City, Negros Occidental.Executive Order No. 61, Series of 2022, signed Monday, October 10, increases the salaries of the Victorias City government JOs from P347 a day to P450 to meet the minimum wage standards of Western Visayas.The mayor also signed EO 62 reconstituting the Committee on Anti-Red Tape and EO 63 creating the Local Drinking Water Quality Monitoring Committee of Victorias City.*

The P6.5 million Cadiz City pavilion at the Panaad Park in Bacolod City.*Richard Malihan photoMayor Salvador Escalante said a common use facility will be built in Cadiz City, where small producers can process, label and package their products.Escalante made the announcement during the inauguration and blessing of the new P6.5 million Cadiz City pavilion at the Panaad Park in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod City.The sale of dried fish and other products at the Cadiz pavilion reached about P100,000 in the first two days of the ongoing MassKara sa Panaad.Cadiz City is the dried fish capital of Negros Occidental.“The dried fish industry is synonymous with Cadiz City,” Escalante said.Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Mayor Salvador Escalante at the Cadiz C...

Gov. Roel Degamo is back.*Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said on Wednesday, October 12, that the political tension in Negros Oriental has de-escalated with Pryde Henry Teves stepping down to give way to a peaceful transition of leadership to Governor Roel Degamo.Teves stepped down on Tuesday afternoon.“We are thankful that the governorship dispute in Negros Oriental has been resolved, with Teves respecting and adhering to the Comelec ruling proclaiming Degamo as the duly elected governor of the province,” Abalos said in a statement.Abalos lauded DILG-7 Regional Director Leocadio T. Trovela and Provincial Director Farah Gentuya for being at the helm of negotiations and for guiding the smooth transition of the governorship to Degamo.He also thanked Dumague...