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A vehicular fire in Bacolod City.*The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) responded to 214 fire incidents in Bacolod City from January to June this year, its report released Wednesday, June 8, showed.The fires injured 12 civilians and the estimated amount of damage was placed by the BFP at P4.7 million but affidavits of fire loss and damage placed the figure at P24 million.Fires hit 75 grass and sugarcane fields, 56 electrical posts, 37 residences, 18 garbage areas, 14 special structures and vehicles, 4 storage facilities, 4 commercial areas, 3 factories, 1 mixed type occupancy structure, 1 business office, 1 health care facility, and 1 place of assembly, the report said.*

The asbestos waste scattered inside the Burgos Public Market has been removed, City Engineer Allan Agbones said as shown in these photos he sent DIGICAST NEGROS.*The hazardous asbestos waste from the Burgos Public Market roofing has been removed and will be buried in a large vault at the Handumanan Public Cemetery in Bacolod, City Engineer Allan Agbones said on Tuesday, June 7.Engineer Edwin Acostan, a former Overseas Filipino Worker in Kuwait, reported last week that the asbestos removed from market roof was scattered inside the building and on the street outside, and was not properly disposed.He told DIGICAST NEGROS the problem with inhalation of asbestos fiber is its effects will not be felt right away. It will take 10 years or more before it develops into lung cancer, Acost...

Isabela Mayor Irene Montilla and her son vice mayor-elect Juan Miguel Montilla*The Isabela, Negros Occidental, Sangguniang Bayan (SB) finally approved the P267, 064,349 budget of the town, Mayor Irene Montilla said Tuesday, June 7.The SB waited until after the May 9 polls to approve the P267 million budget of the town, she said.The SB is currently headed by Vice Mayor Renato Malabor Jr. who lost his bid for mayor of Isabela to Montilla in the May 9 polls.Montilla said Isabela received a Department of the Interior and Local Government Seal of Good Financial Housekeeping, which requires among others the utilization of 85 percent of town’s annual budget.They are rushing to use the just approved 2022 budget for various earmarked projects because they only have six months le...

Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, Executive Assistant Charina Magallanes Tan and Provincial Tourism Officer Cheryl Decena (l-r) with Consul General Patrick John Hilado (center) at the Philippine Consulate in Guam Tuesday, June 7.*Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and his team met with Philippine Consul General to Guam, Patrick John Hilado, at the Office of the Philippine Consulate General in Guam, USA, Tuesday, June 7.They discussed investment opportunities, tourism promotions and the possibility of a sisterhood agreement between Negros Occidental and Guam, Charina Magallanes Tan, Executive Assistant IV and Provincial Information Officer, said.Hilado is a Negrense.Tan, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz and Pr...

Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia at the League of Cities of the Philippines special assembly at the Marriott Hotel in Manila on June 2.*Outgoing Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia has stepped down as national president of the 145-member League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) during the organization's special assembly at the Marriott Hotel in Manila on June 2."Working with you has made me a better public servant and a better man. I am because we are," said Leonardia, who was given a standing ovation at the assembly by his peers from other highly-urbanized cities.Leonardia was elected LCP national president during the League's 68th general assembly on July 19, 2019, a press release from the Bacolod Public Information Office said Tuesday, May 7.He was eventually named b...

Board Member Rita Gatuslao (left) distributing the NHA aid in Isabela, Tuesday, June 7.*Richard Malihan photoThe Negros Occidental provincial government distributed P14.4 million from the National Housing Authority (NHA) to 2,894 residents of Isabela town who lost their homes to typhoon “Odette” at rites held Tuesday, July 7.The NHA Special Emergency Housing Assistance Program aid of P5,000 each was distributed at the Isabela Municipal Covered Court and Isabela Cultural Center, which was attended by Board Member Rita Gatuslao and Isabela Mayor Irene Montilla.Only those whose houses were totally destroyed are covered by the NHA aid.Numerous Isabela residents who said they were also victims of the typhoon complained that they were not included in the list of beneficiaries....

Labor Regional Director Sixto Rodriquez Jr.Employers should pay the new wage increases in Western Visayas that took effect Sunday or face penalties, which could include imprisonment, Labor Regional Director Sixto Rodriquez Jr. warned Monday, June 6.Under Republic Act 8188 an employer who refuses to pay the prescribed increases will be fined not less than P25,000 to not more than P100,000, or face imprisonment of not less than two years nor more than four years, or both at the discretion of the court, he said.The new order increased the daily wages of employees in private establishments employing 10 workers and below from P310 to P420 or by P110, and for those employing more than 10 workers from P395 to P450 or by P55.It also increased the wages of WV agricultural workers fr...

Atty. Romeo Carlos Ting Jr.Bacolod mayor-elect Alfredo “Albee” Benitez said Monday, June 6, that he has chosen lawyer Romeo Carlos Ting Jr. to be the new city legal officer when he officially assumes his post on June 30.Ting, 50, who heads the Ting Law Office, said he has been practicing law for almost 20 years. This is a new challenge, Ting said, of his upcoming job as city legal officer.Earlier Benitez also announced that lawyer Pacifico Maghari III will serve as city administrator and lawyer Karol Joseph Chiu will be secretary to the mayor.Maghari, Chiu, Ting, Councilor Al Victor Espino and former councilor Caesar Distrito are members of the transition team of Benitez that is headed by Bacolod Rep. Greg Gasataya.They are asking that the meeting of their transition t...

Negros Occidental’s dengue cases have increased by 357 percent this year, the Department of Health reported Monday, June 6.*Hinigaran town in Negros Occidental has hit the epidemic threshold for dengue, Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, Provincial Health Officer, said Monday, June 6.They will start fogging operations in Hinigaran, and are ensuring that clean up drives are conducted, he added.The Department of Health (DOH) reported on Monday that Negros Occidental had 105 new dengue cases, raising its increase by 357 percent this year compared to 2021.The latest DOH report said Negros Occidental had 800 dengue cases and five deaths from January 1 to May 28 this year, making it the topnotcher in Western Visayas.Western Visayas has 297 new dengue cases bringing its total to 2,065 th...