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Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez turned over eight big motorcycles to the Bacolod City Police Office headed by Col. Joseph Martir on Friday.*Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said the assistance of the Negros Occidental provincial government officials to Bacolod City does not need to be formalized anymore.Now that his administration has gotten through the six-month period, they feel that their assistance to the city does not have to be formalized, Benitez said at a press conference on Friday, January 13.The consultants were Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz for Administrative Matters and Systems Review, Provincial Economic Enterprise Development Division head Lucille Gelvolea for Special Projects and Economic Affairs, and Dr. Mary Ann P. Maestral, Teresita L. Jalandoni...

City DRRMO photoMayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez assured that the clearing of drainages and declogging of waterways in Bacolod City to prevent flooding remains a priority of the city government.Dr. Anna Maria Laarni Pornan, City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office head, earlier said it could be delayed because of lack of DRRMO personnel.“If ever there is a need for additional manpower all she has to do is ask, which is how it was done before,” Benitez said at a press conference Friday, December 13.Benitez said he has asked Councilor Pao Sy “to find out exactly what is the required manpower needed by the DRRMO”.*

Three sugar planters federations have asked the Sugar Regulatory Administration and the Carbonated Soft Drinks (CSD) industry to show actual and projected sugar production and consumption figures that can shed light on their request for sugar importation.“Show us the figures,” replied Enrique D. Rojas of the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP), Aurelio J. Valderrama Jr. of the Confederation of Sugar Producers’ Associations (CONFED) and Danilo A. Abelita of the Panay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers (PANAYFED), in their respective stands submitted to SRA.In a letter dated January 6 to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the Coca-Cola Beverages, Pepsi-Cola Products and ARC Refreshments (manufacturer of RC Cola products) requested government “to put in place a supplemental imp...

San Carlos Mayor Renato Gustilo (left) overseeing the landslide clearing operations.*San Carlos LGU photoThe section of the Eco-Translink Highway at Upper Caticlan, Barangay Rizal in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, that was hit by landslides on Thursday and Friday, January 12 and 13, has been cleared of debris but commuters are cautioned against travelling through the area at night and during low visibility.It is still an active landslide area so there is a need to observe “care and caution” because there are still boulders and mud rocks that could fall, Joe Recalex Alingasa Jr., head of the San Carlos City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, said Sunday, January 15.“We are closely monitoring the area as rain or any movement of the ground could trigger a landslide,” ...

The police seized P272,000 in suspected shabu along the Circumferential Road in Purok 3, Brgy. 1, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, at 2:20 a.m. Sunday, January 15.Nabbed were vendor Jerry Carpio Dela Cruz, and his helper Richard Membella Olarte, 41, of Bacolod City.The Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit and the Kabankalan police conducted the buy bust operation and seized about 40 grams of suspected shabu.The two are now in the custody of the Kabankalan police.Meanwhile, Ricky Salmingo Grajo, 47, was arrested in a drug bust in Barangay I-Poblacion, EB Magalona, Negros Occidental, 3:25 p.m. on January 14.Recovered from him was white crystalline substance estimated at 1 gram and worth P6,500, the police said.*

The water that overflowed on Thursday*Bacolod PIO photoThe water that overflowed on the road leading to the sanitary landfill in Barangay Felisa, Bacolod, because of heavy rain rendered it impassable to smaller trucks and caused a backlog in garbage collection.Only bigger garbage trucks could pass on Wednesday and Thursday, Carmela Arcolas Gamboa, executive assistant to the mayor, said on Friday, January 13.The total backlog in garbage truck trips was 53 for two days, she said.So starting Friday to Sunday, IPM-Construction and Development Corp. (IPM-CDC), the garbage hauler of Bacolod City, should have 117 trips a day to catch up, she said.Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Benitez said the access road to the landfill is being cemented to address the difficulty of garbage trucks get...

Councilor Vladimir Gonzalez, City Tourism Officer Ma. Teresa Manalili, Councilor Jason Villarosa, Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, Crispin Chua, Oddette Ong Gomez and Jennifer Gochangco Ong (l-r) at the Bacolaodiat Festival press conference on Friday.*Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said 18th edition of the Bacolaodiat Festival set January 20-22 to usher in the Chinese New Year should also be a time to start moving on after the COVID-19 pandemic.This will be the start of a better year to come and a signal to return to normalcy, he said.The new COVID-19 cases in Bacolod City have been relatively low and there are even days when there are no reported cases, Benitez said at a press conference on Friday, to announce the Bacolaodiat Festival activities.“It’s now re...