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Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez (center) at a press conference at the Bacolod City Government Center on Friday.*The 1,500 Bacolod City government job order (JO) workers without any official appointments are considered volunteers and will not be paid, Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said Friday, November 18.Only about 3,500 JOs officially appointed from October to December will be paid, he said.Benitez said 800 of the JOs with appointments are assigned to schools and 2,700 to the Bacolod City Government Center.“We cannot accommodate all because of the restrictions of the amount of budget that we have left for this year,” he said.“If you are not officially appointed for a three-month period, we will now consider you as volunteers...do not expect to be paid,”...

The creation of Regions 6 (Western Visayas) and 7 (Central Visayas) sub regions instead of a Negros Island Region could “be a good compromise for us to move forward”, Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez said Friday, November 18.However, he does not know if the congressmen pushing for a Negros Island Region, which will include Siquijor, will withdraw their bills that have already been filed in the Lower House.The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the National Economic and Development Authority have proposed that instead of making Negros Occidental and Oriental and Siquijor part of one region, Region 6B and Region 7B should instead be created to address the clamor for efficient delivery of services, he said.Under Region 6B all national government offices ba...

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez is meeting Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and Land Transportation Office officials on Saturday, November 19, to discuss a transition phase for the remaining operators of traditional jeepneys to join the public utility vehicle modernization program.The 15-day LTFRB ceasefire on the apprehension of traditional jeepneys without franchises in Bacolod ends next week.Benitez said he met with the operators of the traditional jeepneys on Thursday and they want to join the modernization program with certain provisions.He asked them to itemize their proposed provisions to be included in the modernization program in a letter signed by all of them so he can present them to the LTFRB, Benitez said.The mayor said he saw...

The house of the teacher who was robbed.*Ilog PNP photoA 29-year-old teacher was hit on the head by robbers when she entered her home at Barangay Manalad, Ilog in Negros Occidental on Tuesday, November 15.Injured was Virnadith Misajon who is now under observation for the injuries she sustained.When the victim arrived at her house, she saw her room was in disarray and heard the voices of two men, who robbed her place, the police said.The suspects struck her head with a hard object, causing her to faint.When she gained consciousness, her jewelry worth P10,000 was gone.The police are now investigating the persons of interest in the case.*

A disinfection drive is underway in Manapla.*There were 18 suspected cholera cases and two deaths in Manapla, Negros Occidental, this week, Mayor Manuel Escalante said Friday, November 18.A 74-year-old male who had long been bedridden died of dehydration on Thursday, while the cause of death of a 34-year-old male on Wednesday still has to be determined, he said.Escalante said health authorities were not informed that the two were ill, they only found out after they died.There were also eight suffering from diarrhea and vomiting who were brought to the Manapla Rural Health Unit from Monday to Wednesday, five on Thursday and five on Friday, some of whom have since been discharged, he addedAlthough they had symptoms of cholera, no confirmatory laboratory test results were ...

The suspect in the killing of a barangay captain.*Isabela PNP photoA suspected member of the New People’s Army (NPA) who was linked to the killing of an Isabela barangay captain was arrested at Brgy. San Agustin, Isabela, Negros Occidental, Thursday, November 17.Nabbed was Winnie Carillo, 53, who was tagged as the town’s Top 6 most wanted person.His apprehension was by virtue of warrant of arrest for murder issued by La Carlota Regional Trial Court Judge Mila Yap-Camiso on November 10, with no bail recommended for his temporary liberty.The police said the suspect was involved in the shooting of Brgy. San Agustin chairman Agapito Euraoba on August 10, 2018.He is now in police custody.*

The Bacolod City government is organizing an enforcement team to ensure that food sold by ambulant vendors are safe for the public.Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Benitez made the announcement Friday, November 18, after a video of fried chicken purchased outside the Libertad Public Market that was found to have worms in it went viral.Benitez said he admits that there have been lapses in the sanitation inspection of meat products, food, restaurants and ambulant vendors in the city.He is directing the City Legal Office to create an enforcement team to address this, Benitez said.The city government has also been monitoring water refilling stations and will not allow those that are non-compliant to operate, Benitez stressed.The mayor said he has asked Councilor Celia Flor, chairperso...

The proposed P600 million Bacolod City government legislative building to be built behind the Bacolod City Government Center*The Bacolod City government is building a P600 million legislative building, which is targeted for completion next year, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said Friday, November 18.The three-storey legislative building to be constructed behind the Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC) will be financed through a bank loan, he said.Benitez said the legislative building, which will have ground parking, is being built to decongest the BCGC that is already crowded.All of the legislative offices will be moved to the new building, and one floor will be used by other departments, Benitez said.He is not certain if a Bacolod Comprehensive Health Program office ...

The Sangguniang Panlungsod has approved a P851 million 2023 budget for Victorias City, which was earlier than the expected timetable.The P826 million allocated budget for the city’s general fund for 2023 is a slight decrease from this year’s budget, which was P900 million, the Victorias City government announced on its Facebook page.The Economic Enterprise Appropriation for 2023 is P25 million, which is higher compared to the 2022 budget, it added.More than P100 million has been allocated for health and social services, , P17 million for community development, City Disaster Risk Reduction Management and GAD funds - more than P41 and Educational Development Support Fund - P10 million.The 20 percent development fund for 2023 is P135 million. This is significantly lower than this ...

Rolly Moncillo Asumbra and Inocentes Villanueva Posadas were sentenced to two counts of life imprisonment on Friday*Barbara Mijares photoBacolod Regional Trial Court Judge Raymond Joseph Javier sentenced eight persons facing charges for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act to life imprisonment and acquitted four others on Friday, November 18.They were sentenced on National Judgment Day in celebration of the 47th anniversary of the Office of the Court Administrator.“We are required to swiftly dispose of cases in order to decongest court dockets”, Javier said.Sentenced to life imprisonment were Rolly Moncillo Asumbra, Inocentes Villanueva Posadas, Edgar Belenio Jr., Sandra de Asis Parimar, Hernan Beato de Asis, Dennis Bito-on Salazar, Andrew Amihan Sia and Rodol...