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Bacolod City officials at the opening of the Chicken Inasal Festival at the North Capitol Road.*Ronnie Baldonado photoThe National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) has acknowledged Bacolod’s  Chicken Inasal as one of the city’s cultural properties, in time of the celebration of the Bacolod Chicken Inasal Festival that kicked off May 24. Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez  said,  in an interview  at the festival’s opening at the North Capitol Road in Bacolod  City  on  Friday, May 24,  that  the NCCA on May 13 issued a certificate of compliance to  Bacolod City.Benitez said that he is proud that it has been recognized to be a city’s cultural property, as Chicken Inasal is one of the recognized top food in the world.&nb...

Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District)* Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) announced on Friday, May 24, that  the  Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System bill is now a law. “We thank President Bongbong Marcos for swiftly signing it into law,” he said.  Benitez  championed the bill as principal author and sponsor in the House of Representatives. “This law will now help us keep track of and understand the value of our country's natural resources and ecosystems. That way, we can make smarter decisions about how to take care of our environment while still growing our economy sustainably,” he said.* 

The  Northern Negros Electric Cooperative announced a P2.7 per kilowatt-hour increase in its electricity rates for May, from P14.5674/kWh in April last month to P17.2669/kWh this month. NONECO, in  a press release,  said that they are adjusting their electricity rates in May by P2.6995/kWh because of the increase in  electricity prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM). Electricity rates at WESM increased by P4.4372, from P8.1846 in April to P12.6218 this month. NONECO  said  the National Electrification Administration (NEA) has also clarified that the power rate increases have resulted from high generation costs from power suppliers due to extreme heat. Consumers were reminded to conserve energy to avoid payin...

A senior high school student died after he was  electrocuted in Brgy. Maquiling, Sagay City, Negros Occidental, on  Thursday, May 23. The 19-year-old senior high school student climbed a mango tree near the  church at  Purok Katipunan, Sitio Inangtan, to pick  mangoes. He was holding a GI-pipe that  accidentally hit an electric wire. The neighbors and  family of the victim used a bamboo pole to detach him from the GI-pipe. He was rushed to the  Alfredo E. Marañon Sr. Memorial District Hospital but was declared dead on arrival.* 

Initiatives on renewable energy in the province will be fleshed out in the creation of the Provincial Power Development Road Map, Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson assured in a statement at the conclusion of the  provincial Renewable Energy (RE) Week and  Expo in Bacolod City on Friday,  May 24. Lacson said  the RE Week and Expo was just a step towards the realization of “SecuRE Negros”, a government initiated program that aims to secure power in the province through renewable energy. “As we have said, much work needs to be done”, he said, adding “This will be fleshed out in the Provincial Power Development Road Map being crafted in direct collaboration with a technical working group of the Department of Energy, together with our own Provincial Power Sector Study...

Victorias Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez, Fernando Zobel de Ayala, Negros Occidnetal Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Bacolod Mayor Alfredo  Abelardo Benitez  (l-r) at Ayala’s Appreciation Cocktail Party at the Central Hall of Ayala Malls Capitol Central in Bacolod Friday night, May 24.*Richard Malihan photoThe Ayala Group  is opening a showroom for electric vehicles in Talisay City and eyeing  the  setting up of a 100-hectare solar farm in Negros Occidental,  Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Friday, May  24.Tycoon Fernando Zobel de Ayala of Ayala Corporation and the chief executive officers of the Ayala Group of Companies met with Lacson at the Governor’s Office at the Capitol in Bacolod City Friday morning. Ayala is setting up  a showroom in Talisa...

Former mayor Evelio Leonardia and Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez  (l-r) during the BacoLaodiat Festival in February.* John Stephen Sy photo  The Commission on Elections En Banc has upheld its Second Division’s ruling dismissing a petition filed by former Bacolod mayor Evelio “Bing” Leonardia for a vote recount and the nullification of the proclamation of Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez as mayor of Bacolod.The Comelec En Banc in a resolution promulgated April 23 and released to the media Friday, May 24, dismissed the motion for reconsideration filed by Leonardia on Sept. 19, 2022 and affirmed the Second Division’s Order dated Sept. 7, 2022. “Aside from the fact that the petition is insufficient in form and content, the protestant failed to adduce evi...

The father was declared dead at the Kabankalan City Hospital in Barangay Tabugon.*A 36-year-old farmer suffering from a nervous breakdown ran amok at his home in Purok Ibos, Barangay Tapi, Kabankalan City,   leaving his live in partner and four children injured before killing himself   at about 6:30 p.m.  Wednesday, May 22. His live-in partner, 36, and their children were preparing dinner, when without any provocation he hacked them on their backs, necks and heads with a bolo, Cap. Jolan Benzon, Kabankalan deputy police chief, said. One of the children was able to hit the suspect causing him to fall and enabling the rest of the family to escape, Benzon said. The father who tried to chase them stabbed himself in the stomach and was dec...

The Commission on Elections in Negros Occidental has purged 178,328 persons from its list of voters.COMELEC-Negros Occidental data on Thursday, May 23, showed that 17O,000 were delisted for failure to vote in two successive elections. The others who were delisted   had died, were double entries, transferred to other areas or had applied for overseas absentee voting. The most number of delisted voters in the province were in Bacolod City at 26,389. Nationwide   4.2 million voters had been delisted by the COMELEC for various reasons. Meanwhile, the COMELEC En Banc has released four resolutions for the proclamation of four duly elected   barangay and SK officials in Negros Occidental. The four resolutions were issued t...

Senator Imee  Marcos with   Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr., Manapla Mayor Manuel Escalante III and Sagay City Vice Mayor Leo Rafael Cueva (l-r)  in Cadiz City Thursday.* Cadiz PIO photoSenator Imee Marcos on Thursday, May 23, reiterated that she is certain her brother, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., will sign the Negros Island Region bill into a law. The bill that seeks to create the NIR composed of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor is pending before the Office of the President.  Senator Marcos, who was Cadiz City in Negros Occidental, said  “There are a lot of bills awaiting signing into law but I am certain it (the NIR bill) will be scheduled shortly”.“The problem with the NIR bill, which will become a law,  is that  it req...