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The Department of Health-Western Visayas reminded the public to remain vigilant against potential health hazards during the holiday season during the kick off if its “Ligtas Christmas 2024” campaign on Thursday, Dec. 19.DOH-WV, in a press statement, said that the Ligtas Christmas campaign aims to empower the public to prioritize their well-being and their families by promoting a healthy lifestyle and disease prevention.The campaign includes promotion of a healthy lifestyle through proper nutrition, regular exercise, and self-discipline, and adopting daily habits to prevent chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and obesity.It also underscores the importance of self-care, sufficient sleep, and mental health for overall well-being.DOH also urged road safety especi...

Task Force Mapalad farmers staged a rally in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform Provincial Office (DARPO) in Bacolod City on Thursday, Dec. 19, to urge President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella to attend to the landless farmers in Negros Occidental.TFM President Teresita Tarlac, in a press statement, said that since the last Notices of Coverage issued in 2014, many farmworkers in Negros Occidental have remained landless for at least a decade.“Many of us have grown old waiting decades for land. Some have died leaving behind their children still fighting for agrarian reform,” Tarlac said.The rally coincided with a DAR event at the Cadiz City Arena where the agency led the distribution of electronic titles of individual Certificates...

Muddy stream flow  at the twin falls  in Guintubdan, Barangay Ara-al, La Carlota City.* Mt Kanlaon Natural Park Facebook page photo  The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology on Wednesday, Dec. 18, strongly recommended increased vigilance and readiness of communities versus lahar flow from Kanlaon Volcano.Prolonged and heavy rainfall may generate post-eruption lahars on major channels from remnant pyroclastic density current (PDC) deposits from Kanlaon’s Dec. 9 explosion, it said.Lahars are destructive mixtures of water, volcanic ash and rock fragments that flow down the slopes of volcanoes. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration issued an advisory on Wednesday that the Shear Line and Tropical Depression ...

Negros Occidental provincial government employees delivering supplies to an evacuation center*The Negros Occidental provincial government is preparing activities to make Christmas Day fun for 8,270 evacuees from the Mt. Kanlaon 6-kilometer expanded danger zone now staying at 18 evacuation centers.There are 6,282 evacuees in La Castellana, 470 in Bago City and 1,518 in La Carlota City, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported on Wednesday, Dec. 18.Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson would be joining the evacuees on Christmas Day.Diaz did not give specifics on the Christmas Day activities at the evacuation centers. It would not be a surprise if he disclosed the details, the governor will make the announ...

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez  (3rd from left, front row) led the switch-on rites on Wednesday.*Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, who led the ceremonial switch-on of the solar power system at the Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC) Wednesday afternoon, Dec 18, said "it is a first step in making Bacolod a renewable energy power house”.The 400 kilowatts solar system that cost about P20 million will enable the BCGC to save from P1 million to P1.5 million a month in electricity cost, he saidThe BCGC electric cost has been from P2 to 3 million a month, he said.In about two years the city government will save enough to cover the cost of the BCGC solar power system, he said.“This is just the first, there are several other projects in the pipeline,” he s...

The Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative (NOCECO) and Negros Electric and Power Corporation (NEPC) have announced a decrease in their power rates this December.NOCECO in southern Negros announced that its power rates decreased by P1.0845/kilowatt-hour, from P15.0388/kWh to P13.9543/kWh.The rate reduction was driven by the P2.9442/kWh decrease in the price of energy purchased from the spot market, NOCECO said in a press statement.The KEPCO Salcon Power Corporation also started delivering power on Dec. 7 and its impact to power supply will be reflected in the January 2025 billing, it added.Meanwhile, NECP in central Negros announced a P0.8234/kWh decrease in its electricity rates from P12.011/kWh to P11.1876/kWh.It attributed the decrease to the reduction of genera...

The provincial government employees lining up for their drug tests at the Capitol on Wednesday.*Barbara Mijares photoAbout 1,800 Negros Occidental provincial government employees were subjected to surprise drug tests at the Capitol in Bacolod City Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 17 and 18, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.The employees subjected to drug tests were 700 from the provincial government hospitals and 1,100 from the Capitol, he said.They are the second wave of provincial government employees subjected to drug tests this year, Diaz said.He said the drug testing is part of the drive of Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson to ensure a drug-free work environment.“It’s a very serious campaign and we hope to clean our house of users and abusers of illegal substances,...

The Commission on Elections discussed contingency plans for the May 2025 polls, should the Kanlaon Volcano situation worsen, at a recent Negros Occidental Provincial Joint Security Control Center (PJSCC) meeting.The Dec. 12 PJSCC meeting was attended by Army, police and Philippine Coast Guard officials, Provincial Election Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria said Wednesday, Dec. 18.As of now no election areas of concern or hotspots have been declared in Negros Occidental, Ananoria said.All areas appear to be categorized as green, he said, which means no problem or cause for concern.But they will be conducting contingency planning on the Kanlaon Volcano eruption in case evacuated voters are displaced and schools usually used as voting centers are used as evacuation sites in May...

The Negros Occidental provincial government won two and Bago City won three 2024 Excellence in Local Governance (EXCELL) Awards given by the Department of the Interior and Local Government at the Pagdayaw 2024 held in Iloilo City on Tuesday, Dec. 17.The Negros Occidental provincial government was the champion for Environmental Management for the “Negros Occidental Ramsar Wetlands Conservation Program", Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Wednesday.It was also the champion for Tourism, Heritage Development, Culture and Arts for the “Negros Trade Fair: A success story of Negrenses' rich history, culture and resilience", he added.Bago City’s entry dubbed “Elevating Information, Education, and Communication: Mobile Info Van on the Go” won the Excellence in Disaste...

Richelle Verdeprado, the new Bacolod DSSD head*Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has appointed a Bacolod City Department of Social Services and Development head.Benitez said he signed the appointment papers of Richelle Verdeprado to the post on Wednesday, Dec. 18.Verdeprado was a division head at the Negros Occidental Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, Bacolod City Administrator Lucile Gelvolea said.Verdeprado has a Bachelor of Science in Social Work degree from the University of Negros Occidental – Recoletos and a Master of Science in Social Work from the Asian Social Institute. She also has a doctorate in Philosophy Major in Development Management and a Juris Doctor (law) from UNO-R.She takes over the helm of the DSSD from officer-in-charge Alma Gustilo. ...