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The Negros Occidental provincial government will implement the fourth tranche of salary increases for its more than 3,000 regular and casual employees in July 2023 even with the expected drop in its National Tax Allotment, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz assured on Wednesday, September 7.The Capitol also granted the 3rd tranche of salary increases in July this year in compliance with the Salary Standardization Law of 2019, he said.They will implement the salary increases despite the crunch because the economic problems are also shouldered by the provincial government employees, Diaz said.Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson will give the provincial government employees what is due to them under the law, as well as additional benefits, he said.Diaz said the “Libreng Sakay” progr...

Farmers will be trained in farm mechanization*Richard Malihan photoThe Negros Occidental provincial government is hiring 190 farmers as job order workers to help the province achieve rice self-sufficiency in about two years.The farmers from various associations will be trained in producing certified seeds, farm mechanization, improved planting, and on post-harvest work to boost rice production, Diaz said.The provincial government’s Shared Services Facility behind the Negros Food Terminal at the North Capitol Road in Bacolod City will also be operational soon, he said.The facility will process products of people’s organizations and non-government organizations who cannot afford to do so to add value and increase their earnings, Diaz said.It will also increase the shelf l...

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri during the Blue Ribbon committee hearing on the alleged sugar fiasco Tuesday, September 6.*Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" F. Zubiri on Tuesday, September 6, said sugar industry stakeholders must be allowed to import supplies of the commodity on their own to end suspicions of "tong-pats", or the price-padding scheme.Zubiri made the recommendation as the Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations, or the Blue Ribbon Committee wrapped up its inquiry on the fiasco involving the import order released by Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), a press release from the Senate said.There should be less intervention from the government on importation, and end-users should instead be authorized to source their sugar supply ba...

A suspected drug personality escaped police operatives during a raid at his home in Barangay Poblacion 1, Sagay City, Negros Occidental on Monday, September 5.The police were acting on a search warrant issued against 47-year-old Jojit Fernandez for illegal possession of drugs and firearms.Maj. Roberto Indiape Jr., Sagay police chief, said the suspect escaped through a secret passageway in his house after sensing the presence of the policemen.He added the police failed to see the passageway.During the raid, the police seized 12 grams of suspected shabu worth P81,600, a .45 caliber pistol with three magazines and 19 ammunition, a .38 caliber homemade revolver with two ammunition, .22 caliber revolver with 10 ammunition, and several drugs paraphernalia.Indiape said the sus...

The scene of the accident in La Castellana.* La Castellana PNP photoA senior citizen died while his minor grandson was injured after the e-tricycle they were riding on was hit by an ambulance at Hda. Layagon Road, Brgy. Lalagsan, La Castellana, Negros Occidental, Monday night, September 5.Killed was 72-year-old Emeterio Ordas, while his 12-year-old grandson sustained injuries.The ambulance came from La Carlota City going to Isabela when it hit the e-tricycle that it was tailing.The driver may not have seen the e-trike because part of the road was dark and it was raining, the police said.The ambulance was not carrying a patient when it happened.Isabela ambulance driver Jether Yutob was detained by the La Castellana police.*

Strengthened health monitoring systems at entry points into Negros Occidental and Bacolod City will be enforced two weeks ahead of the MassKara Festival that kicks off on October 1, Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, Provincial Health Officer, said on Tuesday, September 6.The monitoring against monkeypox and COVID-19 will have to be strengthened with a huge influx of visitors expected for the MassKara, he said.Tumimbang said Bacolod City Health Officer Ma. Carmela Gensoli called a meeting to discuss the CHO’s preparations and protocols, and for a coordinated response with the provincial government.Visitors arriving at the Bacolod Silay Airport and at seaports in Bacolod and other areas of Negros Occidental will be closely monitored, he said.Negros Occidental and Bacolod City composite t...

Human remains that were found in an abandoned house in Barangay Mansilingan.*Police Station 7 photoTwo minors found the remains of a person in an abandoned house in Prk. Kahirup A, Barangay Mansilingan in Bacolod City Sunday, September 4.The children were cleaning the place when they saw the bones in a pile of broken beds and garbage, the police reported Tuesday.Capt. Elmer Bonilla, Police Station 7 chief, said the discovered remains belonged to a man who was mentally handicapped.He said the person used to go around the barangay, but was not seen for several years.The police has coordinated with Scene of the Crime Operatives to investigate the cause of the man's death.*

Dengue deaths in Negros Occidental have hit 27 with three new fatalities, Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, Provincial Health Officer, said Tuesday, September 6.Negros Occidental has recorded 3,956 dengue cases from January 1 to August 27 or a 1008.12 percent increase compared to the same period last year.However, the dengue cases in the province have been decreasing in the last four weeks, Tumimbang said.The dengue deaths this year were reported in Hinigaran – four, Himamaylan City and Calatrava - three each, Talisay City, Murcia, Sagay City and Isabala – two each, and Toboso, La Carlota City, Victorias City, Manapla, Pontevedra, Bago City, Silay City, La Castellana and EB Magalona – one each, the Provincial Health Office (PHO) reported.The top five areas with the highest number of de...

The Provincial Health Office is pushing a house-to-house COVID-19 campaign to vaccinate senior citizens in upland barangays of Negros Occidental.This is being conducted as part of the Department of Health’s “PinasLakas” nationwide campaign since many elderly residents cannot go to vaccination sites in the lowlands, Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, provincial health officer, said on Tuesday, September 6.“We have to go to the hinterlands. House-to-house is still the most effective way of looking for these seniors to be vaccinated,” he said.The “PinasLakas” target is to vaccinate 90 percent of senior citizens and administer booster shots to a least 50 percent of the adult population by October 8.The Negros Occidental vaccination performance as of September 3 showed that 1,425,719 residen...