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Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said Friday, June 3, that the P3,000 anniversary bonus of the Negros Occidental provincial government employees will be granted.“That is already an agreement so of course it will be given,” he said.“It will be released any time that it is ready,” Lacson assured.The Progressive Alliance of Capitol Employees had earlier asked Lacson to release the P3,000 anniversary bonus.Department of Budget and Management Circular 65 dated March 3, 1997, provides that every five years government officials and employees are entitled to an anniversary bonus amounting to P3, 000, PACE Chairman Renelo Lastierre said.The last time the provincial government employees were given an anniversary bonus was in 2017, he said.They are seeking the anniversary bonus on the bas...

Negros Occidental local government units need to vaccinate 70 percent of their target general population and 80 percent of their target senior citizens against COVID-19 to deescalate to Alert 1, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Friday, June 3.The total population for Negros Occidental for 2022 is 2,623,02. The Department of Health has set 80 percent of the total population as the target for COVID-19 vaccination, which is equal to 2,098,421 Negrenses, he said.Senior Citizens have a separate target of 85 percent of their total population of 269,602, which is equal to 239,374, Diaz added.The remaining targets of Negros Occidental for COVID-19 vaccination as of May 28 were 186,436 individuals from the general population and 51,310 senior citizens, he said.The provin...

A Talisay City resident takes part in the COVID-19 mass vaccination drive in Talisay City on Thursday, June 2.*Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Thursday, June 2, that incentives will be given to barangay health workers (BHWs) to further speed up the COVID-19 mass vaccination drive in Negros Occidental.BHWs will be given P25 for every individual they convince to get fully vaccinated, he said.“We’re still very dependent on the local government units, especially the barangay health, workers to convince people in their respective communities, to get vaccinated,” Lacson said.Rice assistance of 5 kilos will also be given to those who are fully vaccinated, he said.The eight-day provincewide simultaneous mass vaccination against COVID-19 in June kicked off on Thursday.The m...

Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO) that has incurred annual pilferage losses of P325 million has launched an aggressive campaign to arrest and file charges against pilferers.Topping CENECO’s pilferage watch list are areas under its Sum-ag Feeder 1, which include barangays Handumanan, Felisa and Cabug, Engineer Leo Arimas, CENECO Technical Services Division chief, said at a press conference on Thursday, June 2.These are the areas where pilferage has been very rampant, he said.Ceneco is increasing its inspection crews from three to eight and is offering rewards to those who report persons pilfering power, Arimas said, adding that about 60 to 70 are caught per month.The identities of those who provide pilferage tips will be kept confidential, he said.They are als...

Engineer Norman Pollentes, CENECO corporate planning manager, announces that the cooperative will start paying an additional P11 million a month starting in June*Central Negros Electric Cooperative will begin refunding its consumers an additional P11 million a month over a two-year period starting this June in compliance with an Energy Regulatory Commission order, Engineer Norman Pollentes, CENECO corporate planning manager, said Thursday, June 2.The refund is expected to be about P0.15 per kWh depending on the actual power consumption of a consumer, Ervin Stan Leo Ticar, CENECO acting general manager, added in a statement.The ERC this week ordered CENECO to implement the refund of its total net over-recoveries amounting to P237,949,425.51 incurred from February 2004 to Decembe...

The ballot boxes from San Enrique that were delivered to the Bago Regional Trial Court.*The camp of Napoleon Delfinando who lost to San Enrique Mayor Jilson Tubillara in the May 9 polls believes that the results could change after a manual recount of votes.Abner Jardinico, spokesperson of Delfinado, pointed out on Thursday, June 2, that Tubillara only won by 10 votes and there were a significant number of ballots rejected by the vote counting machines.Delfinado filed an election protest and sought a recount before the Bago City Regional Trial Court.Tubillara was proclaimed the winning mayor with 8,182 votes. Delfinando had 8,172 votes.Selected ballot boxes have been transferred to the Bago City RTC for the recount.It is the right of Delfinado to seek a recount but h...

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson is set to distribute more NHA assistance in Ilog on Friday, June 3.*The National Housing Authority has stipulated that its P91 million typhoon “Odette” assistance is only for Negros Occidental residents whose houses were totally destroyed, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Thursday, June 2.Lacson issued the clarification amid complaints by some residents whose houses were partially damaged that they had not been given NHA assistance.The provincial government has been given 30 days to distribute P5,000 each to residents identified by their local governments, Lacson said.So far the NHA funds have been released in the cities of Kabankalan, Victorias and Cadiz, and the municipality of Pontevedra.The governor is set to release more NHA funds in Ilog t...

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has announced that there will be a 12-hour power interruption from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 5.NGCP will shut down its Bacolod-Reclamation and Bacolod-San Enrique 69kV transmission lines in connection with its ongoing Cebu-Negros-Panay 230kV Backbone Project, it said in its advisory Thursday, June 2.During the 12-hour power interruption NGCP will conduct continued replacement of its remaining wood poles, and correct other transmission line defects.Central Negros Electric Cooperative said it will also take advantage of this downtime to conduct simultaneous maintenance activities.CENECO will conduct preventive maintenance and servicing of its 10MVA power transformer at the Lag-asan Substation, Hda. Hilangban, Brgy...

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) announced on Wednesday, June 1, that it has ordered Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO) and two other cooperatives to refund over collections charged to their consumers.The two others included in the ERC order are the Pangasinan I Electric Cooperative (PANELCO I) and La Union Electric Company (LUECO).“The Commission resolved to approve with modifications the respective applications of CENECO, PANELCO I and LUECO for the approval of the over/under recoveries based on the formula on the various Automatic Cost Adjustments and True Up Mechanisms and corresponding confirmation process,” ERC Chairperson and CEO Agnes VST Devanadera said.The ERC ordered CENECO to implement the refund of total net over-recoveries amounting to P237,949,425...