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Several students of the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City lighted candles in the school premises Wednesday, November 23, to commemorate the 13th year of the Ampatuan massacre, which was considered as the deadliest single attack on journalists in the world.The commemoration rites was led by the USLS Communication Society, which also unveiled a two-day exhibit that featured updates on the case 13 years after.Andrew Matthew Ortoño, society president, said the people involved in the inhumane event that happened on Nov. 23, 2009 is a “manifestation that freedom is still curtailed by those who are in power, and justice remains elusive to people like us—people who are mere commoners in the society.”“The 32 fallen heroes were a few of the many journalists who lost their lives ...

The Negros Occidental Comprehensive Health Program cards.*Vinthony Ong photoThe Negros Occidental provincial government has been able to save about P80 million in its Negros Occidental Health Care Program (NOCHP) expenses with the implementation of its Management Information System (MIS) even with the increase in its members, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said on Wednesday, November 23.He said from a budget of P120 million in 2019 the NOCHP expenses from 2021-2022 have gone down to P40 million.Their in-house designed MIS has allowed the provincial government to monitor NOCHP availment by its members in real time, which is a deterrent against duplication of expenses, Diaz said.Diaz said the Capitol Cab System where the vehicles of the provincial government are now ...

LTFRB 6 spokesman Salvador Altura*More than 700 traditional jeepneys in Bacolod City could be issued interim service permits by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to operate by January, LTFRB 6 spokesman Salvador Altura said Wednesday, November 23.The interim service permits could be in effect until March 31, 2023, and can be extended if not all modernized jeepneys for the city are delivered by then, he said.The LTFRB has authorized 1,099 modernized jeepneys to operate in Bacolod but so far only 173 have arrived. The modernized jeepneys in Bacolod could reach more than 500 by the end of December, Altura said.At the end of day there is only one goal to give commuters sufficient vehicles, he said.The traditional jeepneys will be allowed to operate in...

The calibration of weighing scales.*City Treasurer’s Office photoThe Revenue Inspection and Miscellaneous Services Section of the City Treasurer’s Office - License Division, assisted by the City Legal Office enforcement team, is calibrating weighing scales at public markets in Bacolod City.Out of 261 weighing scales inspected, seven have been confiscated at the Libertad Public Market, the city government reported Wednesday, November 23.The team is continuing to calibrate and inspect defective and underweight weighing scales in major public markets, bagsakan, and barangay satellite markets.Vendors interested in having their weighing scales calibrated voluntarily may visit the RIMSS-CTO located at the ground floor of the Bacolod City Hall, the report said.*

A cholera outbreak has been declared in a second Bacolod City barangay.Dr. Grace Tan, OIC- City Health Officer, declared a cholera outbreak in Barangay Mandalagan on Wednesday, November 23.Water samples sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine from the two open dug-wells in Purok Luhod-luhod and Purok Ipil-ipil in Barangay Mandalagan where found positive for Vibrio cholerae bacteria, she said.There have also been two recent positive cases of cholera infection at Purok Luhod-luhod, Tan said.Cholera is caused by ingesting water or food that has been contaminated by the cholera bacterium, causing the infected person to suffer from severe diarrhea and vomiting, she said.She said Bacolod City has recorded 23 positive cholera cases so far.The CHO in October al...

LTO Assistant Regional Director Gaudioso Geduspan II*The Land Transportation Office has issued a 60-day preventive suspension order on one of its accredited clinics for the “fraudulent” issuance of a medical certificate, LTO Assistant Regional Director Gaudioso Geduspan II said on Wednesday, November 23.The LTO suspended the K Shine medical clinic at 888 China Town Square Mall at Gatuslao Street in Bacolod for allowing its staff to issue medical certificate in behalf of a doctor who did not conduct an examination on their client, he said.The medical certificates issued by the clinic are used in availing of drivers’ licenses.The LTO monitored the clinic’s operations after it discovered that it issued 168 medical certificates in a day, while other accredited clinics are issui...

Municipal Health Officer Dr. Edmundo Janeo Jr. (4th from left) and Councilor Gilda Parcon (5th from left), who represented Mayor Marvin Malacon, accompanied by Municipal Nutrition Program coordinator Adonis Auquico (4th from right), Batea BNS Sally Jalbuena (1st from right), and Batea Nurse Deployment Program nurse Ivy Joy Perez, receive the 2021 Green Banner Seal of Compliance for E. B. Magalona from National Nutrition Council assistant secretary and executive director Dr. Azucena Dayanghirang (3rd from left), assisted by Regional Nutrition Committee program coordinator Reginaldo Guillen, and DILG-6 local government operations officer Christian Nagaynay, at the 2022 Regional Awarding Ceremony Wednesday*Five cities and two towns in Negros Occidental received 2021 Green Banner Seal of C...

Senate Committee Secretary Joey Tunac, House of Representatives Committee Secretary Frances Melanie Mauricio, Rep. Alfredo Marañon III, CHED-6 Director Raul Alvarez, and NONESCOST President Renante Egcas (l-r, seated).*The Northern Negros State College of Science and Technology has initially been found compliant with all institutional requirements to become a university after the on-site validation of the composite team from the Commission on Higher Education and the bicameral Committee on Higher and Technical Education last week.This is one of the requirements of NONESCOST as it continues its bid to become the first university in Northern Negros, a press release from Sagay City said Wedneday, November 23.During the 5-day activity from Nov. 15 to 19, the CHED Composite Team and...