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Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez on Tuesday, September 13, issued an executive order allowing the optional wearing of face masks in open spaces and crowded outdoor areas with good ventilation.Executive Order No. 33 or "An order providing for the policy and guidelines in wearing of face masks within the territorial jurisdiction of Bacolod City" was issued in response to a similar order issued by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday.Benitez, in EO 33, stressed that the wearing of face masks shall continue to be worn in hospitals, medical facilities, indoor private or public establishments, including public transportations by land, air, or sea.Individuals who are not fully vaccinated, senior citizens and immuno-compromised are highly encouraged to wear their face masks a...

The Barangay Banago Council recently held a hearing on the Home Invest project where participants aired their grievances.*Nico Delfin photoBacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has ordered the firm of Councilor Vladimir Gonzalez to cease and desist from proceeding with its ongoing embankment and slope protection project in Purok Bayanihan, Barangay Banago, pending verification by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).The mayor’s notice signed on Friday, September 9, was sent to Home Invest Ventures Inc. and released to the media on Monday.Gonzalez said he respects the decision of the mayor and had stopped the project on September 1.Barangay Banago officials are questioning the legality of the project.The councilor earlier said that the project on h...

Part of the 45 modernized jeepneys that began plying Bacolod's streets on Monday*Forty-five additional modernized jeepneys began operating in Bacolod City Monday, September 12.They are plying the Alijis-Central Market and Bata-Libertad routes, Neriza Jamora, corporate secretary of MBMJ and Uy Transport Services Inc.Their corporation is composed of three jeepney operators, she said.She said the 45 units are part of the first phase of the modernized jeepneys granted to them for purchase through the Landbank of the Philippines. They have been granted 80 units for Alijis-Central Market and 98 for the Bata –Libertad routes, Jamora said.Their minimum fare rate is P13.*

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Benitez in an ambush interview on Monday, September 12.*“Don’t they have anything better to do? Let’s get to work, the elections are over.”That was the reaction of Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez to the statement of former Bacolod mayor Evelio Leonardia’s spokesman on the dismissal of the election protest they filed against him.The COMELEC Second Division in an eight-page order dated September 7 dismissed the election protest of Leonardia against Benitez for being “improperly filed” and “insufficient in form and content”."Our lawyers have yet to receive a copy of the alleged decision of the Second Division of the COMELEC. As such, we cannot comment yet on the reported decision being unaware of the reasons allegedly made by the Second Division. R...

A Bacolod City resident was among the top passers of the Civil Service Commission’s eligibility examinations through pen and paper test in the first semester this year.The eligibility exams include the Career Service Exam, Pen and Paper Test (CSE-PPT) for Professional and Sub-Professional levels conducted on March 13 and June 19; and Fire Officer Exam (FOE), Penology Officer Exam (POE), Basic Competency on Local Treasury Exam (BCLTE), and CSE for Foreign Service Officer (CSE-FSO), all held on April 24.Jumel Gamboa from Bacolod topped the POE with a rating of 91.28.He was among the 385 of the 2,235 who passed the POE eligibility exam.The CSC said the resulting eligibilities, which are the Fire Officer Eligibility and the Penology Officer Eligibility, are both second level el...

Six policemen from the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office have been relieved from their posts effective Saturday, September 10, by the regional command.The Negros Occidental police officials will assume the posts vacated by their counterparts at the Antique Provincial Police Office following their relief, Lt. Judesses Catalogo, NOCPPO public information officer, said.Lt. Col. Jigger Gimeno, head of the Police Community Affairs Division Unit (PCADU), was replaced by his deputy, Maj. Ruel Culanag.Five deputy police chiefs from various police stations in the province – Lt. Lynie Delos Santos of Murcia, Lt. Rex Lendong of La Castellana, Lt. Alfonso Precia of Cadiz City, Lt. Jomel Salarda of Kabankalan City, and Lt. Charles Richard Casalan of Binalbagan - were also transferr...

The man who was killed in his sleep in Hinigaran town Sunday.*Hinigaran PNP photoA sugarcane worker was hacked to death by his co-workers at Purok Ipil-ipil, Barangay Calapi, Hinigaran, Negros Occidental, Sunday night, September 11.Killed was Alex Estrada, who was sleeping in his nipa hut when he was attacked by the two suspects.He died instantly.The police said that the motive for the incident could be related to their work.Police are still looking for the suspects.*

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has issued an executive order allowing the voluntary wearing of face masks in open spaces and non-crowded outdoor areas with adequate ventilation with a goal of further boosting the economy, Malacañang announced Monday, September 12.Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson who issued a similar executive order on Friday for Negros Occidental, stressed the need for people to use their common sense on the voluntary use of face masks in open spaces.When in close proximity to other people in outdoor places, protect yourselves because COVID-19 still exist, he said.Negros Occidental had 185 active COVID-19 cases on Monday, and three deaths during the weekend.Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said he will also issue an executive order on the voluntary outdoor use of fac...

Firing activities at the shooting range inside the Negros Occidental District Jail in Barangay Tabunan, Bago City, has been temporarily suspended after bullets were discovered outside the facility.A concerned citizen alleged that bullets were recovered from a roof of a house near the NODJ.Lawyer Jairus Dogelio, spokesperson of Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)-Region 6, said they are still investigating if the bullets came from the shooting range inside the jail facility.Dogelio said the jail warden has coordinated with the barangay, but no one lodged a formal complaint.The local police also did not receive a complaint.Meanwhile, Governor Eugenio Lacson said he will inquire about the incident.*