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Bacolod mayor-elect Alfredo "Albee" Benitez*The city administrator and secretary to the mayor under the administration of Bacolod mayor-elect Alfredo “Albee” Benitez have been named.They are lawyers Pacifico Maghari III and Karol Joseph Chiu, Benitez said.Maghari, who will serve as city administrator, is currently Talisay City executive assistant for finance and Talisay Housing Authority head.Chiu is engaged in the private practice of law. Before he became a lawyer he was a member of the staff of Bacolod Rep. Greg Gasataya but resigned in 2008 to go into private practice.He is excited about his new job, it is s a new challenge to be able to help serve the people of Bacolod, Chiu said.Meanwhile, Benitez is asking the Department of the Interior and Local Government to...

Mayor Renato Gustilo inspecting the construction of roads in San Carlos City.*The San Carlos City government is aiming to enter into a public-private partnership for the construction of a P1 billion sports complex, Mayor Renato Gustilo said Sunday, June 5.The sports complex will be built on a 5-hectare city government owned property in Galicia, San Carlos City, he said.Under the PPP scheme the city can start paying for a loan for its construction three years after it is availed of, Gustilo said.There is a contractor that has offered to partner with the city government for the construction of the sports complex, he added.Gustilo said the San Carlos Sports Complex is expected to be bigger and more modern than the Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod City owned by the Negros...

The alleged shabu worth P6.8 million seized in Barangay Banago, Bacolod, on Sunday, June 5.*A Bacolod resident was arrested with alleged shabu worth P6.8 million at Purok Kawayan, Brgy. Banago, Bacolod City, at 7:15 p.m. Sunday, June 5.Nabbed was Napoleon Japitan Begasa III, alias Toto, 30, of Purok Kawayan, a police report said.He was arrested by the Bacolod City Drug Enforcement Unit with 16 sachets and five knot-tied plastic bags containing suspected shabu with estimated weight of 1,010 grams valued at P6,868,000, the report said.Also recovered from the suspect were three P1,000 bills marked money and a sling bag.The suspect was detained at Police Station 3 on Sunday night.*

Expect fuel prices to go up again on Tuesday, June 7, Unioil Petroleum Philippines announced on Saturday.Diesel prices are expected to go up by P6.30 to P6.50, it said.Gasoline prices will also increase by P2.50 to P2.70 per liter, it added.On May 31 fuel films rolled back gasoline prices by P1.70 per liter and hiked diesel prices by P1.20 per liter.That brought the net increase in gasoline to P23.85 per liter and diesel to P30.30 per liter since the start of 2022.*

A maintenance man was shot to death at Purok 12-A in Las Altas, Brgy. Alangilan, Bacolod City, at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 5.Killed was Rene Solidum Mateo, 44, of Purok 12-A, who sustained gunshot wounds on his head and different parts of his body, PCapt. John Christopher Masangkay, Police Station 5 officer-in-charge, said.The victim who was onboard a motorcycle was shot at the entrance of The Higher Ground by a still unidentified gunman, Masangkay said.They are still determining the identity of the killer and his motive, he added.Recovered from the scene of the crime were a cartridge, one fired bullet and a motorcycle owned by the victim, a police report showed.*

The number of persons vaccinated in the first two days of the simultaneous Provincial Vaccination Drive (PVD) against COVID-19 in the 31 towns and cities of Negros Occidental on June 2 and 3 fell short of the target set.The target was to vaccinate 23,305 a day, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Sunday, June 5.However, on June 2 only 3,872 or 17 percent were vaccinated and on June 3 there were 3,446 or 15 percent.The daily target for senior citizens to be vaccinated was 6,414, Diaz said.Vaccinate senior citizens on June 2 were 218 or 3 percent of the target, and on 141 or 2 percent on June 3.The Provincial Vaccination Days are set on Thursdays and Fridays in the first three weeks of June and on Monday and Tuesday on the fourth week.The following is the bre...

The broken pieces of asbestos were just scattered around and on top of the stalls, said Edwin Acostan who posted this photo of what he saw on his Facebook page.*Bacolod mayor-elect Alfredo “Albee” Benitez is calling for the proper handling and disposal of hazardous asbestos removed from the Burgos Public Market roofing.It should have been replaced a long time ago because of its hazardous nature, Benitez said Friday, June 3.He had already noticed the asbestos in the roofing during the campaign period, Benitez said.That is the reason why he wants to repurpose the funds for the Bacolod coliseum for the proper rehabilitation of Bacolod’s markets, Benitez said.Benitez takes over as mayor of Bacolod from incumbent Evelio Leonardia at noon of June 30.Engineer Edwin Acostan...

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Negros Occidental has monitored increases in the prices of several brands of basic and prime commodities but they are still within the suggested retail prices.Romel Amihan, DTI Neg. Occ. Consumer Protection Unit head, said Friday, June 3, that they continue to monitor the prices of basic and prime commodities in Bacolod and other cities of Negros Occidental that are seen as key trading centers on a weekly basis, and in the towns on a monthly basis.There were movements in the prices of some commodities on May 27 compared to May 20, but the increases have not hit 10 percent, he said.DTI records show that the prices of several brands of sardines, coffee, laundry soap, and condensed, evaporated and powdered milk, have gone up.The in...

The newly elected Ilog Sangguniang Bayan members took their oaths of office before Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson at the Ilog Municipal Hall on Friday, June 3.*Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson distributed P14.7 million to 2,944 residents of Ilog, Negros Occidental, whose houses were destroyed by Typhoon “Odette” at turnover rites on Friday, July 3The recipients received P5,000 each from the National Housing Authority Special Emergency Housing Assistance Program that allocated P91 million for the typhoon victims of Negros Occidental.Ilog Mayor John Paul Alvarez thanked the governor and the NHA for the additional help.About 6,000 residents of Ilog were affected by the typhoon and the 2,944 were those who lost their homes, Alvarez said.The newly elected Ilog Sangguniang Bayan members al...