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Willy Miranda Satoc at the BCPO gate Tuesday afternoon.*BCPO PIO photoA jeepney driver who had gone to the Bacolod City Police Office at Barangay Singcang Airport to pay the fine for a trafffic citation ticket he was issued was apprehended at the gate for possession of drugs at 5:10 p.m. Tuesday, December 20.Nabbed was Willy Miranda Satoc, 36, of Baranagy Mandalagan, Bacolod City, the police said.On checking his citation ticket the guard on duty saw that Satoc had a sachet of shabu estimated to weigh about .005 gram worth P500.Meanwhile, the Bacolod City police reported that it confiscated 446.215 grams of illegal drugs with estimated value of P3,034,262 from November 1 to December 19.Fifty eight police operations were conducted resulting to the arrest of 66 drug person...

Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer will be acting governor.*Richard Malihan photoVice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer will be acting governor of Negros Occidental during the holidays.Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, in Executive Order No. 22-65, Series of 2022, designated Ferrer acting governor from December 23 to January 3.The governor said he is taking a leave of absence to travel to Singapore.Under Section 46(a) of the Local Government Code of 1991, Ferrer shall automatically exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the governor, except the power to appoint, suspend or dismiss employees, while he is away, Lacson said.“To ensure continuous and effective delivery of basic and social services, it is necessary to designate an acting governor to assume my duties and respons...

The Negros Occidental Sangguniang Panlalawigan approved the SRI at its regular session Tuesday.*The Sangguniang Panlalawigan approved the allocation of funds for the Service Recognition Incentive (SRI) of the Negros Occidental provincial government employees during its regular session Tuesday, December 20, Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer said.The 2,905 Negros Occidental provincial government employees will receive P20,000 each for a total of P58.1 million.Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lascon sought the allocation of funds after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued an order authorizing the grant of a one-time SRI at a uniform rate not exceeding P20,000.The governor wants the SRI bonus to be distributed this week.The other bonuses of the provincial government employees th...

Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer and Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson (l-r) cut the ribbon at the inauguration* Richard Malihan photoNegros Occ. Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer led the inauguration and turnover ceremony of a school building at the La Carlota City College in La Carlota City, Tuesday morning, December 20.The P40 million 12-classroom building was funded by the provincial government, Provincial Engineer Ernie Mapa said.Lacson said that the inauguration of the new school building is a welcome development in the provincial government’s goal to enhance and strengthen the educational system.The new school building at the La Carlota City College in La Carlota City*He also said that it is of greater significance in light of the challenges that the count...

The CPP has authorized the NPA to mount tactical offensives against the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police.*The New People’s Army cannot launch tactical offensives in Negros Occidental because their capabilities have been greatly reduced, and they are now on the run, Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, said Monday, December 19.There will be no letup in the Philippine Army’s operations against the dwindling rebel forces in Negros so they will have no opportunity to regroup, he said.The Army is ensuring that there will be a peaceful yuletide season for the people of Negros, Pasaporte said.The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on Monday announced that it is not declaring a ceasefire t...

The increase in crimes in Negros Occidental in 2022 can be attributed to the after effects of COVID-19 where people are now free to roam around, the police reported on Monday, December 19.The total crime incidents in Negros Occidental increased from 3,570 in 2021 to 4,132 this year of by 15.74 percent, the Negros Occidental Provincial Police Office reported.Robbery cases were 91 this year or an increase by 97.38 percent and theft cases were 172 or a hike by 72 percent.But there was also a drop in rape cases from 193 to 157 or by 18.65 percent.The average monthly crime rate was 15.74 percent higher compared to last year, the police also reported during the joint Provincial Peace and Order Council and Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Council fourth quarter joint meeting at the Capi...

Fourteen former rebels (FRs) from Sagay and Escalante cities and Isabela town in Negros Occidental received livelihood settlement grants under the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) at the Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City on Monday, December 19.The awarding of financial assistance was led by Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte - 303rd Brigade commander, Provincial Social Welfare and Development head Merle Garcia, and E-CLIP Focal Person Narciso Abad lll.Each former rebel received P20,000 and food packs from the provincial government.Lt. Col. J-jay Javines, 79IB commander, thanked the DSWD for the assistance.He also called on the remaining rebels to return to the folds of th...

The Social Security System said on Monday, December 19, that the 2023 SSS contribution increase would help fund higher benefit disbursements to its members.SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Michael G. Regino explained that the four-stage contribution rate hike readies the SSS fund for the future needs of its members.Starting Jan. 1, 2023, the new contribution rate will be pegged at 14 percent, up by one percentage point from the current 13 percent, the SSS said in a press release.“We have already expanded the benefits to our members such as the unemployment benefit, and maternity benefit under the Expanded Maternity Leave Law (EMLL). Both these benefits, however, have no particular source of funding but since 2019, we have continuously given these benefits to our member...

The body of a tractor driver who had been missing for four days was found with a severed right hand and wounds on the back at a sugarcane field in Purok Matinumanon, Brgy Alianza, Bago City, on Sunday, December 18.The victim was identified as Boddy Samulde Custodio, 42, of Purok Kalubihan Brgy Bacong Bago City, SSgt. Armando Arao Jr. of the Bago police said Monday.The victim had gone to the work place of his son, John Michael, at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, December 14.The victim and his son were threatened by two suspects, one of whom was armed with a bolo, who chased them.The victim and his son were separated in the chase and his family reported him missing.His decomposing body was found in a vacant sugarcane lot covered with soil on Sunday morning.The suspects identifie...