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The driver Rep. Arnolfo "Arnie" Teves (Neg. Or., 3rd District) was gunned down in Sta. Catalina town in Negros Oriental on Monday, November 28.Killed was Juvanie Catubay, 38, of Barangay Poblacion. He was on his way home on board a motorcycle, but when he stopped by a store, he was attacked by unidentified riding-in-tandem suspects.Police said the victim was shot multiple times.Recovered from the scene were 10 fired bullets of a 5.56 caliber firearm, a fired bullet and a deformed slug of a .45 caliber gun.Teves confirmed that the victim was his driver, and he called on authorities to investigate further the killing.Col. Reynaldo Lizardo, newly-installed Negros Oriental police director, said that the Provincial Investigation and Detection Management Group along with loca...

Bago City Mayor Nicholas Yulo*The annual “Lights of Bago” celebration to usher in the New Year has been cancelled as part of the cost cutting measures of Bago City that will face a National Tax Allotment cut in 2023, Mayor Nicholas Yulo said Tuesday, November 29.It will be the second year that the spectacular New Year fireworks show in Bago City will have been cancelled since the COVID-19 pandemic.He said the NTA cut in the 2023 share of Bago City is about P250 million.The performance of city employees will not be affected by the cut, but there will be certain projects that they will not be able to implement, Yulo said.The Sangguniang Panlungsod has approved an about P1.2 billion budget for the Bago City government in 2023, he added.Yulo said the amount of the yeare...

Lawyer Lyzander “Bong” Dilag*Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez confirmed on Tuesday, November 29, that his spokesman, lawyer Lyzander “Bong” Dilag has resigned.He officially resigned for health reasons effective immediately, he was not fired, Benitez said.Benitez said he will act as his own spokesman.The city government has not hired lawyer Jopet Sison, a TV presenter, and politician who was formerly assistant general manager of the National Housing Authority and president of National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation, Benitez said.Sison ran for senator in the May polls and lost. There is a one year ban on hiring persons who ran for office, Benitez pointed out.“He is a good friend and is helping and sharing his expertise in his field…we need all the help we can...

The cholera cases in Negros Occidental are now 59, with 12 new confirmed cases, the Provincial Health Office reported on Tuesday, November 29.Talisay City remains the topnotcher with 22 confirmed cholera cases.Other areas in the Third District of Negros Occidental with confirmed cholera cases are Silay City with 21, including one death, EB Magalona – nine, including one death, and Victorias City with three.In the Second District Cadiz City has three confirmed cholera cases and Manapla has one, the PHO reported.*

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Benitez, DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar and Pag-IBIG Chief Executive Officer Marilene C. Acosta (l-r) sign the MOU.*Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Tuesday, November 29, that discussions are underway on how to make the monthly amortization for the 10,000 housing units to be built in Bacolod City affordable to Informal Settler Families.Benitez recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between Bacolod City, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development and Pag-IBIG for the P10 billion housing program for Bacolod.The MOA spells out the details on how to proceed with the housing project involving 10,000 units committed by PagIBIG, which were not contained in the earlier Memorandum of Understanding, Benitez said.The standard P...

Rep. Francisco Benitez, right, with House Committee on Health chair, Rep. Ciriaco B. Gato Jr. (Batanes, Lone District).*The House Committee on Health approved the bill seeking to establish a Victorias City General Hospital on Tuesday, November 29, Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said.Benitez, who authored House Bill No. 1239, said the Victorias City General Hospital in Victorias City, Negros Occidental, will provide Victoriahanons and nearby residents of the Third District wider access to affordable and quality healthcare, and most importantly help save lives in times of medical emergencies.The need to build more hospitals and health centers has become more urgent amidst the emergence and resurgence of infectious diseases and increasing prevalence of lifestyle ...

Central Negros Electric Cooperative Inc. announced eight-hour power interruptions in some parts of Bacolod City during the conduct of maintenance work from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, December 4.“This is to ensure stability of distribution lines to avoid further serious damages that will result to major interruptions,” Ceneco acting general manager Ervin Stan Leo Tticar said on Tuesday, November 29.Burgos Substation areas affected are:BF1 Villa Homes, Buena Park, Glenwood Subd., Villa Angela, Villa Angela Relocation Site, Regent Pearl, River Walk, Helvetia Heights, SaveMore, Hi-Strip Bldg., Panasiatic Solutions, East Block, Lopue's East Annex (Bowling center), Patria Village, Trinity Christian School, New Government Center (NGC), Lopue’s East Building, Gonzaga Subd., Morata’s P...

CHMSU graduate Jefferson Y. Cafino was 10th placer with a rating of 92.90 percent*A graduate of the Carlos Hilado Memorial State University was the 10th placer in the November 2022 Civil Engineer Licensure Examination and CHMSU was ranked the 4th top performing school, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announced on Tuesday, November 29.CHMSU graduate Jefferson Y. Cafino was 10th placer with a rating of 92.90.The university was ranked 4th with 50 of 58 of its graduates or 86.21 percent passing the examination, the PRC said.The 49 other CHMSU graduates who also passed the Engineering Licensure Examinations are:*Mary June L. Abellar*Elijah Joseph R. Abilla*Rachelle Anne P. Agael*Jean Alexis G. Alampayan*Lara A. Aro*Joydell P. Arogante*John Philip M. Batiller*Keanu L...

CONFED national president Aurelio “Bodie” Valderrama*The Confederation of Sugar Producers Association Inc. (Confed), the largest planters federation in the country, announced Tuesday, November 29, that it has two new member-planters associations this Crop Year 2022-2023.The two new associations that affiliated with Confed are the Planter’s Association of Southern Negros Inc. (PASON) headed by its chairman emeritus Franklin G. Fuentebella, Robert Bernard M. Tan - chairman and Luis T. Garingalao - president, and the United Cadiz Sugarcane Planters Association Inc. (UCSPA) headed by Clarita Lilia “Claire” E. Lacson, a press release from Confed said.“We warmly welcome the two new members which joined Confed at the start of my term as federation president,” said Confed president Aurelio...