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Siudad sang Sipalay ang nangin second place sa Green Destinations Top 100 stories sa Thriving Communities Category.Nangin entry sang Sipalay ang Lakbayon - Women Steps Toward Sustainability. Suno sa LGU ang entry sang Sipalay ang naga isahanon nga entry gikan sa Pilipinas nga nalakip sa Top 3 sa anum ka mga categories sang Top 100 stories.Mismo si Mayor Maria Gina Lizares, 6th District Representative Mercedes Alvarez kag Supervising Tourism Officer Jerick Lacson ang nag baton sang award gikan kay Albert Salman, ang Presidente sang Green Destinations sa awarding ceremony sa Berlin, Germany.Nangin First Place ang Tibau Do Sul sa Brazil kag Third naman ang Katon Kagarai sa Kazakhstan.Ang Lakbayon project partnership sang Sipalay City Council for Women sa Sipalay City Governmen...

CURE president  Felix Gepilga Jr. and lawyer Rey Gorgonio, right, at a press conference on Thursday.* The Ceneco Union of Rational Employees (CURE) filed a notice of strike before the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) in Bacolod City on Wednesday, its president Felix Gepilga Jr. said Thursday, March 7.Gepilga said the NCMB has summoned the contending parties to a conference on Friday.CURE cited Collective Bargaining Agreement violations in their notice of strike, especially on the security of tenure of Central Negros Electric Cooperative’s employees, he said.The security of tenure of the employees was not included in the joint venture agreement entered into by Ceneco, which will allow the Negros Electric and Power Corp. (NEPC) to take over its power distribut...

The Department of Education is leaving it to the discretion of school heads in Negros Occidental to implement necessary measures to protect learners and teachers from rising temperatures.A heat index of 40 degrees Celsius, the highest forecasted, hit Negros Occidental on Thursday, March 7, prompting the state weather bureau Pagasa to advice the public to observe extreme caution.The heat indexes in Iloilo and Roxas City were at 42 and 43 degrees Celsius, respectively.PAGASA Administrator Nathaniel Servando said a strong El Niño will be felt until May.Ian Arnold Arnaez, DepEd - Negros Occidental spokesman, said no across the board rule has been set on how schools should adopt to the rising heat.School heads will have to decide what modes of learning to adopt depending on ...

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson (3rd from right) presides over the 1st quarter joint Provincial Peace and Order Council  and Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Council  meeting at the Capitol.* Richard Malihan  photo The  Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC)   declared Negros Occidental  a province with Stable Internal Peace and Security (SIPS)    at its first quarter meeting at the provincial Capitol in Bacolod City on Thursday, March 7. Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, who presided over the PPOC, said “it’s a manifestation that the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army have been weakened although they are still present here in our province”.  The Negros Occidental Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Committee’s (JPSCC) earlier...

The Kabankalan City Sangguniang Panlungsod is eyeing the  use of P1.9 million to aid farmers affected by the El Niño phenomenon. SP Committee on Agriculture chairperson, Adolfo Mangao Jr.,  said that Kabankalan’s 2024 budget has allocated P900,000 to the City Agriculture Office to purchase water pumps for the irrigation systems and another P1M to the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office for livelihood assistance for affected individuals. However, he said that there have been no requests to the city council for the utilization of these funds to aid the almost 1,200 farmers affected by the dry spell. Reports from the City Agriculture Office said that about 978 hectares of rice areas have been affected by the dry spell, with damage placed at&...

Sipalay City Mayor Gina Montilla Lizares (2nd from right) with Rep. Mercedes Alvarez, Susan Santos de Cárdenas - president and chief executive officer of the  Society for Sustainable Tourism, Green Destinations president Albert Salman and City Tourism Officer Jerick Lacson  (l-r) at the awards rites in Berlin,  Germany.* Sipalay City’s women-led beach cleanup initiative placed second in the thriving communities category of the Top 100 Green Destinations Story Awards in Berlin, Germany, on Thursday, March 7. The “Labayon (‘Lakbay sa Baybayon’ or ‘Walk Along the Beach) Women’s Beach Clean-up Volunteer Project of the Sipalay City Council for Women was awarded second place in the thriving communities category, the only Philippine entry to be make it to a top sl...

The Moises Padilla demolition site* Mayor Ella Celestina Garcia-Yulo said that the demolition of six houses and a church which stood on  government property in Moises Padilla town in Negros Occidental  was lawful and followed all procedures. The demolition of the houses and a church followed the law, which includes meetings and consultations with the affected families, contrary to the claims posted on social media, Yulo said on Thursday, March 7. The 8-hectare site in Brgy. Guinpana-an, where the demolished structures were located, is  government property, the mayor said. About 2,000 square meters of the area will be utilized for the construction of a  Super Health Center funded by the Department of Health. The mayor said that out...

An ambulance driver and a patient died while three others were injured when the vehicle accidentally turned upside down along the highway in Brgy. Bug-ang, Toboso, Negros Occidental, 10 p.m. Wednesday, March 6. Richard Cordova, 56, driver of the ambulance, and the  patient Elojaylo Bayona, 41, died after the vehicle turned upside down  at a  curve in  the national highway. Injured were Rowena Eva, a midwife, and Leah Prino and John Daryl Cordova, both passengers in the ambulance. Toboso Police Chief Jun Ray Batadlan said that the ambulance was going to a hospital in Sagay City to bring the patient who had a stroke.  Batadlan  said that they are looking at fatigue as one of the possible reasons for  the accident as the d...

The Gawahon Eco-Park in Victorias City, Negros Occidental,*Victorias City PIO photo Top tourism sites in Victorias City, Negros Occidental, will offer free entrance for women and girls during the observance of International Women’s Day on Friday, March 8. Sites that waived entrance fees are the Victorias Aquatic Center and the Gawahon Eco-Park. Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez, in a statement, reiterated his administration’s commitment to acknowledging the invaluable contributions of women to the progress and development of the city. “We need to empower women in various sectors, recognizing their vital role in shaping the city’s vibrant community and ensuring its continued success,” he added. Benitez also encouraged workers in all offices of the city gove...

The weather bureau on Thursday, March 7,   said there is an increasing probability that La Niña would occur from June to July. La Niña Watch was raised by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) as the probability for the phenomenon to occur in the next six months is 55 percent. "Pre-developing La Niña historically, is characterized by below-normal rainfall, therefore, the possibility of a slight delay on the onset of rainy season is likely with the combined effects of the ongoing El Niño," the bureau said. In a press conference, PAGASA Climate Monitoring and Prediction chief Ana Liza Solis said even if the bureau has issued the La Niña Watch alert, the public should still concentrate on the impacts of s...