Top Stories

Oct132022 by Digicast NegrosNo Comments

Employment, economy in WV improving: NEDA

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, NEDA regional director Arecio Casing Jr. and Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran (l-r) at the Regional Development Council meeting at L' Fisher Hotel in Bacolod City on Thursday, October 13.*National Economic and Development Authority OIC Regional Director Arecio Casing Jr. reported on Thursday, October 13, that the economy and employment rate of Western Visayas has improved, after a drop during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.However, for four consecutive weeks the prices of basic goods in Western Visayas have been higher than the national average as the inflation rate jumped to 7.4 percent in August 2022, Casing said in his State of the Region Address delivered during the Third Quarter Regional Development Council (RDC) meeting at L’ F...

Oct132022 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Benitez set to sign consultancy agreements with 3 Capitol execs

Top Stories

Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II, Dr, Mary Ann Maestral, and Lucille Gelvolea.* (l-r)Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Thursday, October 13, that he is set to sign consultancy agreements with three Negros Occidental provincial government executives.The Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod during its regular session on Wednesday granted the mayor the authority to sign the agreements.Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said in the spirit of mutual cooperation between the Province of Negros Occidental and the City of Bacolod he is authorizing Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II, Dr. Mary Ann Maestral – Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital chief, and Lucille Gelvolea, Provincial Economic Enterprise Development Department head to serve as consultants of Bacolod Cit...

Oct132022 by Digicast NegrosNo Comments

Power reliability seen with restoration of Amlan-Samboan submarine cable

Top Stories

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) announced on Thursday, October 13, that it has successfully energized the Amlan-Samboan 138kV Transmission Line 1, increasing the reliability of power transmission services between the islands of Negros and Cebu.The transmission line was damaged during the Department of Public Works and Highways dredging and re-channeling activities in Amlan, Negros Oriental, June 15, 2021.The capacity of NGCP’s underwater cable to transmit power between Negros and Cebu was halved, from 180 MW to only 90 MW, limiting the flow of power between islands, NGCP said in a press release.The Amlan-Samboan 138kV Transmission is vital to the exchange of power within the Visayas grid, and gives Negros and Panay consumer’s access to power coming from ...

Oct132022 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Bacolod water refilling stations ordered to close now 112: CHO

Top Stories

The number of water refilling stations in Bacolod City issued sanitary orders to temporarily seize operations have hit 112.The 112 were ordered closed for lack of sanitary and business permits, Dr. Grace Tan, Environmental Sanitation Division head of the Bacolod City Health Office , said Thursday, October 13.The Environmental Sanitation Division inspected 240 water refilling stations and the 112 were found to be non-compliant, she said.Three cholera positive cases and 35 suspected cases have been detected in Bacolod City since September.Bacolod is on an alert versus food and water borne diseases, Tan said.They are conducting massive inspections to assure the public that the water they are consuming is safe, she added.Those issued sanitary orders must have their wate...

Oct132022 by Digicast NegrosNo Comments

Teleperformance Philippines signs Cleanergy deal with AboitizPower

Business, Top Stories

Sandro Aboitiz, Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations, and Gina Camacho-David, Assistant Vice President of Market Strategy, from AboitizPower and Jeffrey Johnson, Senior Vice President for Human Capital Resource Management, Jose Luis Marquez, Chief Operations Officer, Francisco Lara, Chief Executive Officer, and Eduardo Punzalan, Vice President for Facilities and Administration of Teleperformance (l-r).*Teleperformance, a global leader in outsourced customer and citizen experience management provider, continues its strong commitment to environmental sustainability through sourcing renewable energy from AboitizPower (AP) retailer Adventenergy, Inc.Teleperformance will utilize 100 percent Cleanergy, AboitizPower’s brand for renewable energy, to operate their Bacolod and Suca...

Oct132022 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Cops nab 2, seize P8.5M in shabu as Bacolod celebrates MassKara

Top Stories

The Bacolod police arrested two “high value individuals” and seized 1,250 grams of suspected shabu worth P8,500,000 in Prk. Bolinao, Brgy. 1, Bacolod City, 4:10 a.m. Thursday, October 13.Arrested were Alvin Fabon Cristales, alias Bin, 27, of Purok Bolinao and Regina Gurdiel Escosio, 44, of Prk. Lison all in Brgy. 1, Bacolod City.The drugs were believed to be intended for sale during the ongoing MassKara Festival in Bacolod, PLt. Joven Mogato, Bacolod police City Drug Enforcement Unit head, said.The two were caught by the CDEU in the act of selling shabu to a police poseur buyer, Mogato said, adding that they had also been previously detained for drugs.Among the items confiscated from them were seven knot-tied transparent plastic bags and 23 sachets containing suspected shab...

Oct132022 by Digicast NegrosNo Comments

Bacolod resident named PNP Central Visayas head

Top Stories

Brig. Gen. Roderick Augustus Alba*Brig. Gen. Roderick Augustus Alba, who is from Bacolod City, is the new director of the Police Regional Office 7 (Central Visayas).Alba was previously the Public Information Office chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP)."I am confident that Central Visayas is in good hands with General Alba at the helm. His competence, commitment and work ethics bespeak his leadership approach, and so, I entrust him to lead the more than 11, 000 strong personnel of Police Regional Office 7 to raise the bar of excellence in public service," PNP chief Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said.Alba, a member of the Philippine National Police Academy class of 1992, had previously served as the officer-in-charge of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office.*

Oct132022 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

‘No winners in war, end armed struggle’

Top Stories

Residents of Barangay Carabalan, Himamaylan, have been in evacuation centers for a week.*Mayor Raymund Tongson Facebook page photo“In war there are no winners so we are hoping that the situation in Himamaylan will settle down and residents can go back to their respective communities,” Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Wednesday, October 12.The massive evacuation triggered by government and rebel clashes in Barangay Carabalan, Himamaylan City, was unexpected, he said.The governor reiterated his appeal to the rebels to end their armed struggle, pointing out that the government has provided financial assistance to those who have returned to the folds of the law so they can resume normal lives.Lacson said he will ask the Himamaylan City officials why Carabalan ...

Oct132022 by Marchel P. EspinaNo Comments

Mayor submits proposed P3.25B annual budget for 2023 to SP

Top Stories

Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has submitted the proposed P3.25 billion Bacolod City annual budget for 2023 to the members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod.The proposed budget was calendered in the council’s regular session Wednesday, October 12, and was accepted by the SP committee on appropriations and finance chaired by Councilor Jude Thaddeus Sayson.Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran said that the committee is expected to call for committee hearings, adding that the SP still has two months to approve the proposed budget.He added that the proposed allocation for next year is the same as the current year.The bulk of the proposed budget was allocated to Maintenance and Other Operating Expenditures at P1.413 billion, or 43.51 percent of the fund, followed by Personal Services at P91...

Oct132022 by Nico DelfinNo Comments

Call center agent nabbed for sextortion

Top Stories

A call center agent was arrested for sextortion on Tuesday, October 11.*A call center agent was arrested in an entrapment operation Tuesday, October 11, for “sextortion.”This, after the suspect allegedly threatened a 19-year-old girl through a text message that her nude photos would be shared on the internet if she would not comply with his demand to have sex.The victim said she sent photos and videos to her chatmate in exchange for P10,000, which she did not receive. She was surprised when the suspect blackmailed her.The police immediately carried out an entrapment operation that resulted to the arrest of 27-year-old Dennis James Traza, an employee of a call center firm in Bacolod.Police Maj. Joery Puerto, Police Station 8 chief, said they got the cell phone from the s...