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Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez,   Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) and Victorias Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez (l-r) are supporting Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson.* Victorias Mayor Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez said on Friday, July 26, that his family will support the reelection bid of Gov.  Eugenio Jose Lacson Jr. even if their relative Francis Frederick “Wantan” Palanca insists on running for governor. Palanca, a former Victorias City mayor, is a cousin of Betty Bantug Benitez, the late mother of Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District)   and grandmother of Javi Benitez. It is not known if Palanca will pursue the governorship in 2025 under the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino of former...

A laborer was shot dead  by a barangay tanod in Sitio Marcel, Brgy. Cansalongon, Isabela, Negros Occidental, on Thursday,  July 25,  the police reported Friday. Jasin Carpio, 22, was shot by Ronald Delgado, alias “Akol”, the police reported.The victim was intoxicated and was behaving violently when the suspect tried to pacify him, the police added.However, the victim ignored the tanod’s efforts and drew a bolo from his waist and attempted to attack him, the police said.The suspect then drew his firearm and shot the victim.The victim was rushed to the Isabela Rural Health Unit but was declared dead on arrival, while the suspect fled.*

Three suspects, including a Bacoleña, were arrested and shabu worth about P108,800 was seized in a buy-bust operation at the NOCECO Village in Brgy. 1, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, on Thursday, July 25. Arrested were Marissa Yrezabal, 41, the subject of the operation, of Brgy. 2, Bacolod City, and Jestoni Boluntate, 24, from Brgy. Kamansi and Joefrey Dolor, 54, of Brgy. 1 in Kabankalan City. The three suspects were tagged by the police as street-level drug personalities. The police recovered suspected shabu weighing 16 grams, an improvised plastic scoop with traces of shabu, paper bills, and an improvised glass tube.The suspects are now in police custody while the recovered drug evidence was brought to the Police Provincial Forensic Unit for examination.*&n...

City PIO photoThe Bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine Intensive Catch-Up Immunization and Supplemental Immunization Activity of the Department of Health (DOH) has covered 387,557 children in Western Visayas from March to July this year. To address the increasing number of unimmunized and under vaccinated children, they conducted  two programs that led to the vaccination of 252,524 children ages 24 to 59 months old and 135,033 children ages 0 to 23 months, the DOH reported on Friday, July  26. The program aims to protect the children against the Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (VPDs) and increase coverage, the DOH said.With the opening of classes next week, DOH-6 is also planning to provide technical directions for the implementation of School Based Immunization to ...

China Energy Engineering Group Shanxi Electric Power Engineering Co., Ltd. holds a groundbreaking and mobilization ceremony for the 65-megawatt Areco Solar PV Power Plant Project in Bacolod City* A Chinese solar power company has joined the Philippine government’s efforts to boost supply capacity of renewable energy by constructing a photovoltaic (PV) power project in Bacolod City.The China Energy Engineering Group Shanxi Electric Power Engineering Co., Ltd. held a groundbreaking and mobilization ceremony for the 65-megawatt (MW) Areco Solar PV Power Plant Project in Bacolod City, marking the official start of the construction stage for its first PV power project in the Philippines on July 14.The Areco Solar PV Power Plant Project will have a capacity of 50 MW and involves cons...

“I pray for an organized and a very welcoming start to the school year,” DepEd-Negros Occidental Schools Division Superintendent Anthony Liobet said Sunday, July 28.Classes for school year 2024-25 start on Monday and Liobet said their schools are ready.“We have prepared our schools through Brigada Eskwela and our mentors are now ready to implement the MATATAG Curriculum for Kinder, Grades 1, 4 and 7”, he said.Teachers who will be teaching those levels have undergone trainings for the MATATAG Curriculum, Liobet said.The MATATAG Curriculum aims to decongest the curriculum and resolve misplaced learning competencies from Kinder to Grade 10, the DepEd earlier said.MATATAG stands for “Make the curriculum relevant to produce job-ready, Active and responsible citizens; TAke st...

The presentation of the PCCI Visayas’ manifesto of full support for the NIR.*photo courtesy of Ed DuThe Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry    issued a manifesto of full support for the Negros Island Region (NIR) at its 33rd Visayas Area Business Conference (VABC) in Iloilo City on Friday, July 26.Edward Du, Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, thanked PCCI Visayas led by Melanie Ng for the manifesto of support.PCCI Visayas shall actively promote investment opportunities in the NIR, particularly involving public private partnerships, the manifesto said.“We prosper together as one Visayas,” it said.It also urged the business chambers in the new region to create separate  NIR business chamber. Victorias Mayor Javier Miguel “Javi” Benite...

Rep. Jose Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District)*Major education groups have endorsed Rep. Jose Francisco “Kiko” Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) to be the next director general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).The Philippines Business for Education (PBEd) and the Coordinating Council of Private Education Associations (COCOPEA) have sent letters to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. endorsing Benitez.Benitez, when reached for comment told DIGICAST NEGROS on Sunday, July 28, that he is “honored by the endorsement and thanks them for their trust and support”. However, “I prefer not to speculate on the President’s decision. I trust his judgment and will support whoever he appoints as the next TESDA director general,” Benitez said.P...

The repair of  a  section of the revetment  wall of the P37 million esplanade  beside the Bacolod City Government Center that caved in is underway, a Department of Public Works and Highways  (DPWH) official assured on Saturday, July 27. Engineer Lea Jamero, DPWH Bacolod assistant district engineer, said about 15 meters of the revetment wall caved in amid heavy rain last week.The damaged section is under warranty and the contractor MKU Construction and Supply is repairing it at its own expense, she said.The certificate of completion of the area where the damaged occurred was April 4, 2024 that is why it is still under warranty, Jamero said.*

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has announced that he will provide cash rewards for informants who can provide credible information on unsolved killings in the city, his spokesman Caesar Distrito said on Saturday, July 27. The mayor has agreed to the proposal of PCol. Joeresty Coronica, the new Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) director, Distrito said. “The mayor will just announce the amount after conferring with Col. Coronica,” he added. Coronica, at a press conference on Friday, said he proposed that rewards be given for information, especially on unsolved shooting incidents. The reward could convince witnesses to testify and awaken their social responsibility if they have witnessed a crime, Coronica said.*