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The products of the Integrated Social Forestry beneficiaries at the Market Expo and Trade Fair.*CPG photoA 5-day Market Expo and Trade Fair to recognize People's Organizations and Integrated Social Forestry farmers engaged in sustainable farming and good agricultural practices for a greener Negros environment kicked off at the Capitol grounds in Bacolod City on Monday, December 5.The fair that runs until Friday was organized by the Provincial Environment Management Office, Acting PEMO head Alberto Nellas Jr. said.The event aims to foster partnership and collaboration with stakeholders from non-government organizations, private and business/investor sectors, and the academe to fill the gap between the producers and the market or from the supplier and the consumer in order to pro...

Mayor Narciso “Narwin” Javelosa Jr. said there is an 80 percent increase in the scholarship fund of Sagay City, amounting to P18 million compared to last year’s P10 milling during his inaugural State of the Children’s Address at Balay Kauswagan, recently.In his speech dedicated to all the programs and efforts of the city toward child development, he said that this increase in funding benefitted 629 Sagaynon scholars and eight special grantees.“Our children’s month celebration each year emphasizes our commitment and responsibility to the well-being and welfare of our children,” he said, adding “This is a wake-up call for all stakeholders to uphold and safeguard children’s rights and to chart our efforts, initiatives, and achievements for the benefit of our young population.”The ...

The green sea turtle being rescued.*Sagay PIO photoA green sea turtle stranded in the coastline of Brgy. Taba-ao, Sagay City, in Negros Occidental was rescued and freed on Sunday, December 4, a Sagay Marine Reserve (SMR) report said.Two fishermen saw the turtle stranded in a fishnet of a fishing boat in Brgy. Taba-ao and informed the authorities of its presence.Representatives from the SMR, Sagay police, Philippine Coast Guard, and barangay tanods then freed the male turtle weighing 150 kilograms into the sea near Carbin Reef. It was 47 inches in length and 38 inches in width.The SMR thanked the team for ensuring the safe release of the turtle.*

Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez*Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has issued an executive order creating a Bacolod City Land Banking Committee.Proposals of all interested parties who want to sell land will be accepted by the committee, Benitez said on Sunday, December 4.The Committee on Land Banking will identify, evaluate and recommend the possible acquisition of real properties for future use of the Bacolod City government.The committee will be chaired by the city assessor.It is tasked to submit a report and recommendation to the mayor on its evaluation conducted taking into consideration the factors of site location, area and appraised value of the property.Meanwhile, Benitez said tenants at the Manokan Country have until the December 31 to abide by their compromise ...

Sugar leaders on Sunday, December 4, welcomed the holding of an industry summit and the consolidation of sugar farms to boost production.Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez met with senators Sherwin Gatchalian and Joseph Victor Ejercito on Friday, December 2, to discuss the holding of a summit in January to craft a plan to make the Philippine sugar industry globally competitive for it to survive.There is a need to consolidate sugar farms in the Philippines for efficient, productive and sustainable economies of scale, Benitez said.Enrique Rojas, National Federation of Sugarcane Planters president, said “We welcome the proposed consolidation of sugarcane farms. Sugarcane is a plantation crop which demands economies of scale. A farmer needs to cultivate a wide area to minimize ...

The Negros Occidental provincial government is no longer requiring passengers to present COVID-19 vaccination cards at the Bacolod-Silay Airport, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Sunday, December 4.Diaz in a letter to Roel Aranzado, acting airport manager, last week said that inspection of vaccination cards would end on December 1.The vaccination inspection team at the airport has reported back to the CapitolThis was implemented to harmonize with domestic airport protocols, especially in Manila, Diaz said.Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines and Air Asia have 21 flights that arrive at the Bacolod-Silay Airport a day, Diaz said.Meanwhile, Diaz said a vendor who returned to the North Capitol Road sidewalk next to the provincial government’s property in Bacolod Ci...