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Mayor Alfredo Alfredo “Albee” Benitez paid a surprise visit to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Male Dormitory in Brgy Singcang Airport, Bacolod City, to check on the condition of the overcrowded jail on Saturday, May 18. The mayor noted the worsening condition of the Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) in the 300-capacity jail that is overcrowded with almost 700 prisoners, Singcang Airport Barangay Captain Caesar Distrito, who also serves as the mayor’s spokesman, said Sunday. Aside from being overcrowded, the PDLs are also enduring the scorching heat due to El Niño, Distrito said.  Jail Personnel also explained  that aside from having a very small building, the property belongs to the Bacolod City Police Office and the BJMP is just borrowin...

A Negros Electric and Power Corp. Team responding to line trouble in the CENECO coverage area.*  Negros Electric and Power Corp. (Negros Power) is assisting Central Negros Electric Cooperative, Inc. (CENECO) in its  maintenance capabilities and in expediting outage restoration. Negros Power, in response to the request of Ceneco for help, has deployed six teams equipped with boom and bucket trucks and other repair tools. “These teams are working closely to augment the existing teams of CENECO to ensure the efficient maintenance of the distribution lines and the swift resolution of power outages within the franchise area,” a Negros Power press release said  Sunday, May 19.  CENECO Acting General Manager Arnel Lapore said consumers should still co...

Rep. Greg Gasataya, Rep. Mercedes Alvarez , Neg. Occ.  Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and  Rep. Gerardo Valmayor Jr. (l-r) at the  alliance signing Saturday night.*Greg Gasataya FB page photo Negros Occidental and Bacolod City officials  attended  the  alliance signing of the  Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) and  Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) in Makati City  on Saturday night. Present at the alliance signing  were Negros Occidental   Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, Rep. Mercedes Alvarez (Neg. Occ., 6th District), Rep. Gerardo Valmayor Jr. (Neg. Occ., 1st District)  and  Rep. Greg Gasataya (Bacolod), who are NPC members. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,  PFP chairperson,   in his mes...

Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz.*It is only the Silay City Sangguniang Panlungsod that has not issued a Resolution of No Objection (RONO) to the P1.2 million bulk water project of the Negros Occidental provincial government, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Friday, April 17. He said the Sanggunians of Bacolod, Talisay, and Victorias cities, and the towns of EB Magalona and Manapla have already issued RONOs for the project. “The problem is not technical, there are three factions in the Silay SP that cannot agree on whether or not to give the RONO to the province…Water should be above politics, it is a basic need and basic right of every Silaynon and Negrosanon,” he said. The Silay SP members are saying that the bulk water project will take away ...

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson*Negros  Occidental Governor  Eugenio Jose Lacson will be a resource speaker at the 10th World Water  Forum in Bali, Indonesia,  next week. The governor will  leave for Indonesia on Monday, May  20. and will return to Negros Occidental on Thursday, May 23, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said. The governor, who was invited by the USAID, will talk about  the Negros Occidental’s good governance initiatives on  water resource  utilization planning  and its bulk water  project so other countries can learn from it, Diaz said.The World Water Forum one of the largest gatherings of water-related multi-stakeholders, that takes  place every three years. Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer will be acting go...

A price freeze on basic commodities is now in place in three  Negros Occidental local government units that have declared states of calamity  because of damage caused by the El Niño phenomenon. The price freeze in   San Enrique, Kabankalan City and Valladolid will be in place for 60 days from the time  the state of calamity in  the LGU was declared, Negros Occidental Provincial Director  Lynna Joy Cardinal of the  Department of Trade and Industry said. The price freeze in  San Enrique will be in effect  from  April 8 to June 7,  Kabankalan City  - April 18 to June 17, Valladolid -  May 1 to June 30. A  prize freeze in  San Carlos  City that has also declared a state of calamity h...

A minor was electrocuted while allegedly attempting to steal a cable wire of a telecommunication firm from a post located near a mall in Brgy. Zone 2, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, early Friday morning, May 17. The 15-year-old boy  died while hanging on the electric wires. The Cadiz City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office rescuers had to use a boom truck to recover the remains of the victim. The electrocution of the minor also caused a temporary power outage near the area of incident. The victim was brought to a hospital but was declared dead on arrival.* 

Maj. Gen. Marion Sison* The Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division lauded the rejection by  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of  the call to abolish the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) saying that the program has had a crucial contribution in the peace campaign in the Visayas Region. Maj. Gen. Marion Sison, 3ID commander, in  a press statement  thanked  the president for putting an end to the clamor to abolish NTF-ELCAC.The president made the statement following the Supreme Court's ruling that red-tagging poses a danger to individuals' lives, liberty, and security. In an interview, the president said that there is no reason to abolish the program. Sison said NTF-ELCAC is by far the most ef...

A  man tagged as  eighth on the provincial drug target list  and his live-in partner  were arrested, and suspected shabu worth P2.86 million was seized in a buy bust operation at a subdivision   in Brgy. Tangub, Bacolod City, on Thursday, May 16.Arrested were Richard Monton, 42, and Jenimar Garcia, 32, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-6 (PDEA-6) reported on Friday. Monton was tagged as the PNP-PDEA Negros Occidental No. 8 Provincial Target-Listed Personality. Seized were 520 grams of suspected shabu valued at P2,856,000 in knot-tied plastic bags, buy-bust money, an improvised tooter, and other non-drug items. Monton was previously imprisoned at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City, also for an illegal drug offense, and was ...

Brig. Gen. Jack Wanky, Police Regional Office 6 Director* Brig. Gen. Jack Wanky, Police Regional Office 6 Director, warned that chiefs of police caught allowing illegal gambling to continue in their areas and are receiving payolas will be relieved from their posts. They will face sanctions and charges will be filed against them, said  Wanky, who attended a command conference at the Negros Occidental Provincial Police Headquarters at   Camp Alfredo M. Montelibano Sr. in Bacolod City,  on Friday, May 17.The PNP’s “one strike policy” will be enforced in the event that a chief of police knows that there is illegal gambling in his area and does not act on it. The cop chief will be  automatically relieved from his post if it takes operatives from the reg...