Top Stories

Identification cards were being issued to job order workers at the Bacolod City Government Center lobby on Monday.*Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Monday, January 9, that the work done by 894 job order (JO) workers hired by the city government previously could not be identified.They were removed from the list and the city government now has 2,700 job order workers, he said.The assignments of all of the JO workers were reviewed to make sure that they are doing actual work, he said.More JO workers will be hired as additional projects are implemented within the year, he said.“We want to make sure that all those we hire have something to do…and are actually productive,” he said.The city government has put in place a scheme to prevent ghost JO workers, he ...

The Bacolod City Legal Office is set to serve two tenants at the Manokan Country closure orders for failing to pay arrears on their rent despite compromise agreements reached last year, City Legal Officer Romeo Carlos Ting Jr. said Monday, January 9.The orders that may be served Tuesday will give them 15 days to vacate the premises, he said.They have not paid anything at all since they entered into the compromise agreements, Ting said.Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said they have been given enough warning, if they are not earning enough to pay their rent then they would be better off not doing business at the Manokan Country.There are also 12 other stall holders at the Manokan Country who have not paid the exact amounts set in their compromise agreements with the ci...

Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez at his start of year press conference at the Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC).*The Bacolod City government has accepted the proposal of a Manila-based company for the construction of the 10, 000 housing units for the poor in Bacolod City starting this year, which is expected to create about 15,000 jobs for Bacolodnons, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez said Monday, January 9.Accepted was the public private partnership (PPP) proposal of WRS Holding Inc., Benitez announced during a press conference at the Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC).The city government and the firm are now in the negotiation stage, after which their agreement will be subjected to a Swiss challenge from other interested parties, City Legal Officer Romeo Carlos Tin...

The burned tractor in Cauayan*PNP photoA tractor was burned by unidentified men in Cauayan, Negros Occidental, 7 a.m. Monday, January 9, the police reported.Burned was the tractor owned by the Chua Corp. of Bacolod City in Hacienda Corilla, So. Langoni, Brgy. Inayauan, Cauayan.Six unidentified persons came out from a sugarcane field carrying a container of gasoline that they poured on the tractor and lighted it up, the police report said.The tractor was totally burned, it added.*

An alleged New People’s Army rebel was killed in a clash with 94th Infantry Battalion soldiers in Sitio Maliko-Liko, Brgy Carabalan, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, 6:30 a.m. Monday, January 9.The 94th IB soldiers and the police responded to a report that armed rebels were conducting extortion activities and asking for food in Sitio Maliko-liko, which resulted in a five-minute firefight with about 10 rebels identified as members of the NPA Central Negros 2 – Komiteng Rehiyon Negros Cebu Bohol Siquijor (CN2-KR-NCBS) group, the 303RD Infantry Brigade reported.The rebels left behind their dead comrade, it said.Recovered from the scene of the encounter were one M-14 rifle, a M79 grenade launcher, two M-16 rifles, a rifle grenade, seven M-14 rifle magazines and ammunition, one M...

The Bacolod City officials who also discussed electricity concerns during their strategic planning meetings in Baguio City are back.* Rep. Greg Gasataya FB page photoBacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez is asking the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to look into two different contract prices charged for the purchase of power by Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO) from Palm Concepcion Power Corp. (PCPC).Worth looking into also is the possible abuse of the power market considering the big disparity in the two rates of power being purchased , Benitez said in a letter to Monalisa C. Dimalanta, ERC chairperson, dated January 2, a copy of which was furnished the media Saturday.This warrants a review by the ERC of the power supply agreements between CENECO with PCPC, Beni...

Khiem Sales photoE. B. Magalona, headed by Mayor Marvin Malacon, in partnership with the St. Joseph the Worker Parish, headed by Rev. Fr. Ernesto Salvador with Parochial Vicar Fr. Arnel Pabalate, will celebrate the 50th year of its Hermano Mayores del Señor Sto. Niño with a weeklong festival Monday to Sunday, January 9 to 15.Dubbed the “1st Sug-alaw Festival," it will be the first festival of the town in honor of its second patron saint, Señor Sto. Niño, a press release said.The town's Hermano Mayores del Señor Sto. Niño was founded by Fr. Vicente Pelobello in 1973, with then Mayor Luis Magalona and First Lady Manuela Magalona as the first Hermano and Hermana Mayores.The municipal government has organized cultural and religious activities in celebration of the 1st Sug-alaw ...

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Gian Christopher Cordero Santos (right)*Top ranking Philippine swimmer, Gian Christopher Cordero Santos, is the grandson of a Negrense.Maximino Cordero said his 16-year-old grandson is a top ranking Philippine swimmer in 400m Individual Medley, 200m Individual Medley, 400m Freestyle, 200m Freestyle and 1,500m Freestyle, who is set to compete in the SEA Games (Open) in Cambodia in May representing the Philippines.He will also compete in the Winter Invitational Swimming Championships and the South East Asian Age Group Swimming Championships in December.The venue for the last two swimming competitions are yet to be announced.Santos has been swimming since he was 7 years old and is a member of good standing at his swimming club...