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Jun232022 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Strengthening of dollar to drive prices up: Guv

The entire country, not only Negros Occidental, is faced with challenging and hard times ahead with the strengthening of the dollar against the peso and the rising fuel prices, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Thursday, June 23.The Philippine peso was P54.4840 to the dollar on Thursday.“Especially that we are an importing country, prices of commodities will also go up and very clearly we see that also in the fuel price,” Lacson said.That is why he favors the postponement of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections for at least a year so government resources can instead be used for pressing needs, and food security, he said.Rep. Martin Romualdez (Leyte) said that postponing the barangay elections would ...

Jun232022 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Neg. Occ. SP grants RONO for San Carlos LNG plant

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Board Member Manuel Frederick Ko (left) said the RONO was approved by the SP on June 14.*The Negros Occidental Sangguniang Panlalawigan has granted a Resolution of No Objection (RONO) for the construction and operation of a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) power plant in San Carlos City.The SP on June 14 granted the RONO for the power plant proposed by Reliance Energy Development Inc., a subsidiary of San Miguel Corp., Board Member Manuel Frederick Ko, SP Committee on Energy chairman, said Thursday, June 23.REDI needed the RONO for its application for an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) for the construction of its proposed 300 megawatt combined cycle power plant at barangays Punao and Palampas estimated to cost P18.5 billionThe plant will help the energy security of th...

Jun232022 by Digicast NegrosNo Comments

27 former rebels get financial assistance

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The former rebels who received financial assistance.*Twenty-seven former rebels (FR) received financial assistance from the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Negros Occidental provincial government under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) at the Capitol in Bacolod City Wednesday, June 22.E-CLIP is a government program that aims to help members of Communist Party of the Philppines-New People’s Army and Militia ng Bayan restore their allegiance to the government and reintegrate back to the community, a press release from the Capitol said.The 25 FRs received a total of P660,000, and two FRs received P71,000 financial assistance and P39,000 as their firearms remuneration.Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and DILG – Negros Occ. Provincial ...

Jun232022 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

21 new WV Omicron BA.5 cases not in Negros Occidental: DOH

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Sixteen cases are from Iloilo City, four from Iloilo province, and one from Guimaras.*The 21 new Omicron BA.5 variant cases in Western Visayas are not in Negros Occidental, Dr. Adriano Suba-an, Department of Health Western Visayas regional director, said Thursday, June 23.He said 16 of the cases are from Iloilo City, four from Iloilo province, and one from Guimaras.The Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) Task Force on COVID-19 New Variants recommended that cases positive for BA.5 variant of concern, either asymptomatic or with mild or moderate symptoms, must complete 14-day isolation.The 21-day hospital isolation should be observed for severe/critical cases, it added.The Omicron BA.5 variant was first detected in South ...

Jun232022 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Neg. Occ. to get P4.62B for 2023, down P782M

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The provincial government will have to tighten its belt and improve its generation of local revenues, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said.*The National Tax Allotment (NTA) of the Negros Occidental provincial government for 2023 will be P4,623,981,428.The Negros Occidental provincial government’s NTA for 2023 will decrease by P782,280,808 or 14.47 percent from this year’s P5,406,262,236, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said Thursday, June 23.The drop in the NTA will be felt in 2023 and 2024 by all local government units because of the low tax collections in 2020 and 2021 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.If the 2023 NTA cuts in the shares of the 31 local government units of Negros Occidental are included the total reduction could reach more than P2 billion, Lacson said, but...

Jun232022 by Digicast NegrosNo Comments

Three city projects set for unveiling Friday

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Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia will lead the unveiling of three projects under the Green, Green Green Program Friday, June 24.The projects were completed with allocations from the Local Government Support Fund-Assistance to Cities, a press release from the Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC)said Thursday.The City Engineer’s Office said the projects set for inauguration are the improvement and rehabilitation of the Bacolod City Rizal Park, the promenade in front of the Negros Occidental High School along Araneta Street and the improvement of public open spaces at the Government Center.Leonardia earlier disclosed that the city received an LGSF allocation of P9.4 million from the national government to rehabilitate the Rizal Park that included the provision for concrete curbs an...

Jun222022 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

No documents, list of JOs, casuals turned over to Benitez team yet

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The transition teams' meeting on Wednesday, June 22.*Nico Delfin photoThe transition team of outgoing Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia did not turnover any documents, including data on the city’s casuals and job order (JO) workers, to the team of mayor-elect Alfredo “Albee” Benitez during a meeting at the Bacolod City Government Center Wednesday afternoon, June 22, Rep. Greg Gasataya said.Gasataya, who heads the transition team of Benitez, said they were told that they can instead get the documents they need from the city government’s various departments that are ready.Outgoing City Administrator Edward Joseph Cuansing said the documents of the various departments, which the Benitez team can go over, are already complete. The Benitez team can coordinate with the different departm...

Jun222022 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Capitol sets three-year dev’t plan, braces for 14% budget cut in 2023

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Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson wants to ensure food self-sufficiency in Negros Occidental.*Richard Malihan photoThe Negros Occidental provincial government is setting its priorities for the second term of Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson in a three-year development plan, and is preparing for a 14 percent drop in its 2023 budget, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said on Wednesday, June 22.The priorities of the provincial government in its three-year development plan are food security, education, infrastructure and peace and order, among others, Diaz said.Lacson is aiming to make Negros Occidental self-sufficient in food amid a looming worldwide crisis, he said.The provincial government department heads have been asked to set tangible, concrete and doable objectives, he added.Di...

Jun222022 by Digicast NegrosNo Comments

Ferrer upbeat for sugar industry reforms under Marcos’ leadership

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President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. with Negros Occidental Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer (right).*Negros Occidental Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer said on Wednesday, June 22, that he is hopeful that the much awaited reforms in the sugar industry, including the full implementation of the sugar road map and utilization of the Sugar Industry Development Act fund will be realized under the Marcos administration.President-elect Ferdinand Marcos’ announcement that he will also head the Department of Agriculture shows “he is serious in working on his campaign promise that agriculture will be a priority agenda in his administration, which will greatly benefit Negros Occidental in terms of food security and in our effort to wipe out insurgency”, Ferrer said in a press release.David Alba, represen...

Jun222022 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Army overruns NPA hideout in Negros

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Personal belongings, medical paraphernalia, and subversive documents were seized form the rebel hideout, the Army said.*Troops of the 79th Infantry "Masaligan" Battalion overran a Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) hideout after an encounter in Sitio Tinibyangan, Brgy Minapasuk, Calatrava, Negros Occidental, at about 6 a.m. Wednesday, June 22.Lt. Col. J-jay Javines, 79th IB commander, said their troops were conducting a re-visitation of the area when they encountered about 10 rebels believed to be remnants of the dismantled Northern Negros Front (NNF-D).Days before the encounter, several encampments were also found in the barangay, he added."This encounter happened after our troops received information from concerned citizens about the presence o...