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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...

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act No. 11935 on Monday, Octoberr 10.*President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed Republic Act No. 11935 postponing the December 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, Rep. Juliet Marie Ferrer (Neg. Occ., 4th District) said Wednesday, October 12.RA 11935 postpones the Barangay and SK elections on December 5 this year to the last Monday of October 2023, Ferrer, House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms vice chairperson, said.“There shall be synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, which shall be held on the last Monday of October 2023 and every three years thereafter,” the law signed by the president on Monday, October 10, said.The terms of office of the new Barangay and SK officials ...

Bago City's pavilion at the MassKara sa Panaad* Ronnie Baldonado photoThe MassKara sa Panaad is not competing and taking away revenues from other activities of the MassKara Festival in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental provincial administrator Rayfrando Diaz said on Tuesday, October 11.The week-long MassKara sa Panaad at the Panaad Park in Barangay Mansilingan , which kicked off Monday, is being held in support of Bacolod City as it celebrates its annual festival, he said.“It’s not competing, but in fact it is really joining and collaborating with the festivities of Bacolod City,” Diaz said.Activities at the MassKara sites at the Bacolod City Public Plaza and the Bacolod City Government Center grounds are still bustling until the wee hours of the morning, he pointed out.T...

Photo from Bishop Alminaza FBOne hundred days after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was sworn into office, Filipino workers and members of civil society are still looking for clear directions and comprehensive and inclusive plans from the present administration on how to immediately address the country’s economic woes, San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza said on Tuesday, October 11.Marcos has not given his formal report of “accomplishments” in his first 100 days in office, Alminaza said in a statement.“But while the plans and priorities of this administration remain unclear and unreliable, what is certain is that the needs of the Filipino people require nothing less than urgent action,” he said.The most recent report from the Philippine Statistics Authority shows a rise in un...

A 31-year-old man was found dead in a gated subdivision in Brgy. Zone 15, Talisay City, Negros Occidental, early Tuesday, October 11.Police identified the fatality as Kevin Edwin Mijares of Town and Country Subdivision.Police said that the victim’s 67-year-old father, Edwin Mijares, went out looking for his son and found him lifeless at the grassy part of the subdivision.The victim had an injury on the forehead and a firearm was found beside him, the police said.According to the father the victim left their house the night before and needed to take his medication, which prompted him to look for his son, the police said.The victim was brought to the Talisay City Health Center, where he was declared dead on arrival.*

Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez meeting with school officials.*Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Tuesday, October 11, that he intends to provide internet connections to all public schools in Bacolod soon.“We want our students to be more knowledgeable with easy access to information and to get used to the digital environment,” Benitez said on his Facebook page.“Providing access to the internet for our students is part of our plan to make Bacolod a global city with a strong digital infrastructure,” he added.Benitez said her met with Department of Education officials from the Bacolod Schools Division to discuss their needs and requests on Tuesday.Their requests include the improvement of the Rizal Elementary School Phase 2, acquiring a mobile learning hub, desktop comp...