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Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, right, with Guam Visitors Bureau Vice President Gerald S.A. Perez *A travel expo between Negros Occidental and Guam is being explored.Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and his delegation discussed the possibility of holding a travel expo during a meeting with officials of the Guam Visitors Bureau in Tumon, Guam, on Thursday, June 9.They were welcomed by Guam Visitors Bureau Vice President Gerald S.A. Perez and Marketing Manager Sharlene Guerrero.The members of Lacson’s delegation are Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz, Executive Assistant IV and Public Information Officer Charina Magallanes – Tan, and Provincial Tourism Officer Cheryl Decena.They were accompanied by Consul General Patrick John H...

Thirty out of 33 provincial and congressional candidates in Negros Occidental filed their statements of contributions and expenditures (SOCEs) before the initial deadline ended on Wednesday, June 8.The three provincial bets who did not file their SOCEs before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) were losers - Ma. Socorro Sibulan who ran for governor, Pedro Bolaño – 5th district board member bet and Bernard Ferraris – candidate for representative of the third district, Acting Provincial Elections Supervisor Roberto Salazar said.Homer Bais, Patrick Lacson and Archie Baribar, candidates for Bacolod councilor who lost, also did not file their SOCEs, City Elections Officer Revo Sorbito said.Winning national and local candidates in the May 9 elections now have until November to file...

Google maps.*Transport groups in Bacolod City are holding a unity forum on Thursday, June 9, to discuss the rise in fuel prices and the call for a fare hike, Diego Malacad, United Negros Drivers Operators Center secretary- general, said on Wednesday.The Negros Bacolod Transport Coalition will come up with a consensus on whether to ask for a fare increase or not, Malacad said.The current jeepney fare is P10, he said.The Western Visayas Transport Cooperative is aiming for a fare rate of P15.Malacad said a P15 fare rate would not be enough to cover the rise in fuel prices but would also not be affordable to commuters.Government should address the problem of the impact of the rise in fuel prices on the transport sector, he said.Their unity forum will also discuss co...

Lieutenant Governor of Guam Joshua Franquez Tenorio (center) with Negros Occidental Tourism Officer Cheryl Decena, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, Administrator Rayfrando Diaz, and Information Officer Charina Magallanes Tan (l-r) in Guam, on Wednesday, June 8.*Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and his team paid a courtesy visit to Joshua Franquez Tenorio, Lieutenant Governor of Guam, Wednesday, June 8.They discussed the possibility of a sisterhood agreement between Negros Occidental and Guam.Lacson, together with Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz, Executive Assistant IV and Provincial Information Officer Charina Magallanes – Tan, and Provincial Tourism Officer Cheryl Decena are currently on official visit to Guam until Thursday, June 9.The team is...

A reported Criminal Investigation and Detection Group asset was killed while he was having coffee at Purok Malipayon, Barangay 35, Bacolod City, at 6:50 a.m. Wednesday, June 8, a police official said.Killed was Jose Allan Braza, 59, of Barangay 35, PMaj. Ramel Sarona, Police Station 1 chief, said.Braza was having coffee when one of two persons sitting beside him shot him on the head twice with a .45 caliber pistol causing his instantaneous death, Sarona said.Witnesses said the assailant and his companion then walked away and boarded a motorcycle.Sarona said they are still determining the identity of the assailant and the motive for the killing.*

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is preparing for the December 2022 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections despite calls for their postponement, Roberto Salazar, acting Negros Occidental provincial elections supervisor, said Wednesday, June 8.The Comelec will restart the registration of voters, but the specific date has not been set yet.The last barangay elections were held in May 2018, Salazar said.Barangay elections are supposed to be held every three years but proposals have been floated to extend them to every five years.They will prepare for the barangay and SK elections unless a law is again passed postponing them, Salazar said.He said they have received instructions from their head office for an inventory of ballot boxes, registration forms and equipmen...

Junbert Pabon of Barangay Bata, Bacolod City, speaking before the United Nations General Assembly *A 22- year-old youth representative of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) from Bacolod City spoke on youth and crime prevention before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on June 6.“We ask you to give young people the space and the opportunity to meaningfully participate in the decision making process and development of crime prevention policies,” Junbert Pabon of Barangay Bata told representatives from 193 member states.Pabon, a 2021 Kofi Annan Changemaker, Kofi Annan Messengers of Peace Hero and WOSM youth representative for peace, challenged the UNGA to invest in young people and to allow them to be part of developing multilateral solutions a...

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) will shut down its Bacolod-Silay-Victorias 69kV transmission lines causing more power interruptions on Sunday, June 12.Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO) will take advantage of this downtime to conduct simultaneous maintenance activities, its acting general manager Ervin Stan Leo Ticar said Wednesday, June 8.NGCP will install its Submarine Cable Overload Protection Scheme (SCOPS) for the Bacolod-Silay 69kV line at the Bacolod Substation, he said.Areas affected from 6 a.m. to 7a.m. and 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. are:BURGOS, MOUNTAINVIEW and LOPEZ SUBSTATIONSBF1 Villa Homes, Buena Park, Glenwood Subd., Villa Angela, Villa Angela Relocation Site, Regent Pearl, Riverwalk, Helvetia Heights, SaveMore, Hi-Strip Bldg., Pan...

A vehicular fire in Bacolod City.*The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) responded to 214 fire incidents in Bacolod City from January to June this year, its report released Wednesday, June 8, showed.The fires injured 12 civilians and the estimated amount of damage was placed by the BFP at P4.7 million but affidavits of fire loss and damage placed the figure at P24 million.Fires hit 75 grass and sugarcane fields, 56 electrical posts, 37 residences, 18 garbage areas, 14 special structures and vehicles, 4 storage facilities, 4 commercial areas, 3 factories, 1 mixed type occupancy structure, 1 business office, 1 health care facility, and 1 place of assembly, the report said.*

The asbestos waste scattered inside the Burgos Public Market has been removed, City Engineer Allan Agbones said as shown in these photos he sent DIGICAST NEGROS.*The hazardous asbestos waste from the Burgos Public Market roofing has been removed and will be buried in a large vault at the Handumanan Public Cemetery in Bacolod, City Engineer Allan Agbones said on Tuesday, June 7.Engineer Edwin Acostan, a former Overseas Filipino Worker in Kuwait, reported last week that the asbestos removed from market roof was scattered inside the building and on the street outside, and was not properly disposed.He told DIGICAST NEGROS the problem with inhalation of asbestos fiber is its effects will not be felt right away. It will take 10 years or more before it develops into lung cancer, Acost...