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The protest in front of the Bacolod City Government Center *Amlig Tubig members called for the removal of the 12 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) on water services at a rally in front of the Bacolod City Government Center on Wednesday, January 4.They also called for the reinstatement of “illegally dismissed” Bacolod City Water District employees.Noli Rosales, BAYAN Negros spokesperson, said they are calling on Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez to see to the removal of that 12 percent VAT on water services.“With families already reeling from the high costs of food, fuel, and other basic commodities due to a worsening Philippine economy amid the record-high inflation in the country, the 12 percent VAT in our water utility bills under Primewater is an extra burden to...

There were 63 fireworks-related injuries in Negros Occidental and four in Bacolod City from December 21 to Tuesday, January 3.Those injured in Negros Occidental increased by 103 percent with only 31 recorded in 2021, Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, provincial health officer, said.There were only four firecracker victims in Bacolod, the City Health Office reported.The most number of injured in Negros Occidental were in Bago City that had 10, Talisay City – 7, Cadiz City and Sagay City - 4 each, Binalbagan, Kabankalan City, Silay City and La Castellana - 3 each, Escalante City, Valladolid, San Enrique, Calatrava and Himamaylan City – 2 each, and Isabela, Pulupandan, San Carlos City, Murcia, Cauayan, Hinigaran, Manapla, Hinoba-an and La Carlota City – 1 each.The PHO report said 42.9 per...

The Commission on Elections satellite registration site at Ayala Malls Capitol Central in Bacolod City on Tuesday, January 3.*There was a low turnout of voter registrants at the Commission on Elections satellite registration site at Ayala Malls Capitol Central in Bacolod City on Tuesday, January 3.As of noon Tuesday there were only about 20 voter registrant applicants, Bacolod Elections Officer Kathrina Trinio-Caña said.This could be because it was raining, she said.In December the voter registrants did not go below 200, with 240 on December 30, she said.She called on the public not to wait until close to the deadline on January 31 to register to avoid crowding.The satellite registration at Ayala Malls Capitol Central will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Thursday, Ja...

The body of a 17-year-old male was found floating in a swamp in Brgy. Bantayanon, Calatrava, Negros Occidental, 2:30 p.m. Monday, January 2.The victim of Campo Train, Brgy. Minapasuk, Calatrava, was missing since December 30, the police said.However, his family did not look for him because they thought that he was just staying with relatives.The family requested the Calatrava police for an autopsy to determine the cause of death of the teenager.The victim’s name was withheld by the police for being a minor *

The area in Sitio Lantawan, Brgy. Guimbala-on, Silay City, where the sack with the remains of three persons was dumped.*Romeo Subaldo photoThe identities of three persons whose remains were dumped off a bridge in Sitio Lantawan, Brgy. Guimbala-on, Silay City, Negros Occidental, have not been identified, Lt. Col. Mark Anthony Darroca, Silay police chief, said Tuesday, January 3.A decomposing body and skeletal remains of two other persons in a sack that was thrown off the Oyut Bridge in Sitio Lantawan were recovered on Saturday, December 30.The remains of the three males were beyond recognition and were buried at the Silay Public Cemetery to avoid health risks, Darroca said.The person whose remains were decomposing may have been killed five to six days earlier and the two oth...

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI*Vatican News photo“We have just lost one of the great luminaries of the Church,” Bacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon said of the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on Saturday, December 31.He, passed away at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican.Buzon said “he was a sure guide to us at a time when the world is steeped in darkness and confusion. More importantly, he guided us with his humble leadership and shining holiness of life.”San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza said “Pope Benedict XVI, more than any other pope, has taught and encouraged us to cherish and protect the environment. In fact, he has earned the unique distinction of being called ‘the green pope’."“We are forever grateful for the gift of Pope Benedict XVI to the Church and the ...

Eric T. Loretizo*Public relations man Eric Loretizo, 56, died from cardiac arrest at the Adventist Medical Center Bacolod 7:50 p.m. Saturday, December 31.Loretizo was also a journalist, commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission from December 2007 to July 2010, and secretary general of the Bacolod ASEAN Games organizing committee from 2003 to 2006.He served as executive assistant to the late Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon from 2012 to 2019.Among his public relations clients were former Bacolod mayor Evelio Leonardia, Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr., former Sagay City mayor and now Rep. Alfredo Marañon III (Neg. Occ., 2nd District), former representative and now Sagay Vice Mayor Leo Rafael Cueva, and Bacolod Rep. Greg Gasataya.He also volunteered his ser...

Councilman Dandy De Paula with his sisters Cherry De Paula-Esclamada and Theresa De Paula-Jadoc.*A La Carlota City native has been elected No.1 council member of a city in the United States of America, Mayor Rex Jalando-on said Tuesday, January 3.Dandy De Paula, son of the late SInsp. Eddie de Paula, and the late Nelia Gerzon-De Paula, a DepEd teacher, was elected No. 1 council member of the City of Hawaiian Gardens, California, USA, and was sworn in on December 13, the mayor said.“Dandy has endeared himself to the Hawaiian Gardens community due to the many creative ways he has shown on how to care for and sincerely serve his fellowmen,” Jalandoon said on his Facebook page.His training as a student leader from La Carlota North Elementary School and the Doῇa Hortencia S. Ben...

Former Ilog Mayor Benigno “Boy” Gequillana*Benigno “Boy” Gequillana, the former mayor of Ilog town in Negros Occidental, passed away after a six-year battle with cancer at the Adventist Medical Center- Bacolod on Sunday, January 1.The 72-year-old former mayor had Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which attacks the body's germ-fighting immune system, his son Ilog Councilor Benigno “BG” Gequillana Jr. said.He was brought to the hospital on December 31 after he was hit with pneumonia, his son said.Gequillana was mayor of Ilog from 1988 to 1998.The mayor was a pioneer of the football community of Ilog, a former director of the Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative and an assistant treasurer of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines-Negros Occidental Council.His wake will be at the Ac...