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Negros Occidental, Bacolod City and 17 other towns and cities in the province are 2024 Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) awardees, the Department of the Interior and Local Government announced on Thursday, Nov. 14.“Your commitment to excellence in public service and dedication to the principles of good governance have set a remarkable standard for local leadership. Your unwavering dedication to serving the people is an inspiration to us all,” the DILG wrote.Twelve of thirteen cities in Negros Occidental that are this year’s awardees are: Bacolod, Bago, Cadiz, Escalante, Himamaylan, La Carlota, Sagay, San Carlos, Silay, Sipalay, Talisay, and Victorias.Not included in the list is Kabankalan City.Six of the 19 Negros Occidental towns that are among the awardees are EB ...

The Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative announced a P2.13 per kilowatt-hour increase in its electricity rates for November.Its electricity rate for this month is at P15.0388/kWh, which is P2.1257 higher than last month’s P12.9131/kWh, NOCECO said in a press release.NOCECO attributed the increase to the higher generation charges due to price hikes at the Wholesale Electric Spot market.Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates affecting fuel costs, and increased transmission charges imposed by National Grid Corporation of the Philippines also drove the current rates up, it said.To mitigate the impact of these factors, NOCECO has followed up with the Energy Regulatory Commission to secure approval for a new contract with KEPCO Salcon Power Coporation to reduce exposure to...

The haze over Cebu is not volcanic smog, also known as Vog, caused by Kanlaon Volcano’s sulfur and ash emissions, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said Thursday, Nov. 14.Cebu social media posts initially raised warnings that the haze could be Vog, a type of air pollution that occurs when gases and particles from a volcano react with sunlight, oxygen, moisture, and dust in the atmosphere.Vog can irritate the skin, eyes, nose and throat.Mari-Andylene Quintia, resident volcanologist of the Kanlaon Observatory based in La Carlota City, said the haze in Cebu was not volcanic smog.They received reports that the haze was also being experienced in other parts of the country, she said.The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Adm...

Five individuals were arrested after suspected shabu worth P1.49 million was seized from them in a buy-bust operation in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, on Wednesday, Nov. 13, the police reported.Helen Garaygay, 38, who was the subject of the operation, was arrested together with Aljohn Jimenez, 32, Honey Escorial, 31, Mat Francisco, 41, of Kabankalan, and Jeffrey Majan, 44, of Himamaylan City.Recovered from them were 220 grams of suspected shabu estimated to cost P1,496,000, the police said.Improvised drug paraphernalia and cash were also confiscated from them, the police added.The suspects will face charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.*

A driver died and two passengers were injured when a truck transporting a backhoe fell off a cliff in Brgy. Palinpinon, Valencia, Negros Oriental, on Wednesday, Nov. 13.Danilo Samorin, 36, the driver, died after the truck’s brakes failed causing it to fall off a cliff,Valencia Police Station Traffic Investigator, Cpl. Wilbert Limaco, said.The driver was stuck inside the vehicle, while his two injured companions were brought to a hospital.*

Evidence left at the scene of the accident.*The driver of a subcompact SUV surrendered to the police a day after he hit a tricycle injuring three persons onboard at Lacson-Roxas streets, Bacolod City, early Wednesday morning, Nov. 13.Injured were tricycle driver Jose Pataytay and BPO employees Claribel Claro and Rose Christine Honsilya.The driver of the SUV fled but the license plate of his vehicle was left at the scene of the accident. He surrendered to the police on Thursday.Claro and Honsilya remained confined at a hospital on Thursday.*

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Negros Oriental will distribute land titles and Certificates of Condonation with Release of Mortgage (CoCRoM) to 1,304 farmers, an official said Thursday, Nov. 14.Manuel Galon, DAR Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer, said that this batch of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) will receive their Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs), e-titles, and CoCRoM documents.Among the recipients, 98 ARBs will receive CLOAs, 503 will receive e-titles, and 520 will receive CoCRoM, covering a total of 1,442.64 hectares of land.“The ARBs will now have their individual titles, although they previously received collective titles distributed by DAR,” Galon said.The distribution of CoCRoM is mandated by Republic Act 11953, also kn...

Nearly half of adult Filipinos expect their quality of life to improve over the next 12 months, according to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released Thursday, Nov. 14.The survey, conducted from Sept. 14 to 23, found that 47 percent of respondents believe their quality of life will get better, while 40 percent said it will remain the same, and 5 percent anticipated it to worsen.The remaining 8 percent did not provide an answer.The net personal optimism score was +42, classified as "excellent" by SWS.The September net personal optimism score is similar to the excellent +41 recorded in June, showing a slight upward trend from +37 in March.The stability of the national score was due to slight increases in Metro Manila and the Visayas, combined with a slight dec...

NEPC president Roel Castro and Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez (1st and 2nd from right) lower the time capsule for the Underground Distribution System (UDS) project*Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez called the groundbreaking of the 1 kilometer Underground Distribution System (UDS) project of the Negros Electric and Power Corp. (NEPC) along Lacson Street on Wednesday, Nov. 13, a historic moment in the move towards making Bacolod a super city.The project that will move electric and telecommunication cables along Lacson Street stretching from 5th Street to Bangga Ramos at BS Aquino Drive underground will cost about P80 million, Roel Castro, NEPC president and chief executive officer, said.Construction that will last for 10 months is targeted to be completed in time ...

A dead man believed to have been tortured was found in a sack floating in the sea near the BREDCO Port in Brgy. 2, Bacolod City, on Tuesday, Nov. 12.Maj. Eugene Tolentino, Bacolod Police City Station 2 chief, said the victim who has yet to be identified appeared to have been tortured before he was killed.When the Philippine Coast Guard personnel retrieved the body on Tuesday night, the victim was hogtied.Tolentino said that the victim has no ears, had wounds in his underarm and a gunshot wound in the chest.Marks of a gun nozzle were also seen on the victim’s shoulder.The victim was about 35 to 45 years old, 5 feet 8 inches in height, and was wearing black shorts, the police said.*