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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he is waiting for Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez to set the date for the inauguration of the Asenso Yuhum Residences-Arao in Barangay Vista Alegre, Bacolod City.It is the first among the shelter projects of his administration being implemented under the Pambansang Pabahay Para Sa Pilipino (4PH) Program, Marcos said on Monday, April 8.He will return to Bacolod when the mayor is ready, the president said in an ambush interview in Bacolod City on Monday, April 8.“You will have to ask the mayor, I don’t know when we will open it,” Marcos said when asked for a date.Bacolod was the first to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development so it got the jump on the other projects, Marcos sai...

 Pastor Apollo Quiboloy and former Negros Oriental congressman Arnolfo Teves (l-r)* President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday, April 8, assured Kingdom of Christ leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy and former Negros Oriental congressman Arnolfo Teves of fair treatment in the handling of their cases.But Marcos, who was in Bacolod City, rejected Quiboloy’s setting the conditions for his surrender.Quiboloy is demanding the assurance of the Marcos administration that the United States will not meddle in the criminal cases he is facing.“It seems to be a little bit ‘tail wagging the dog’ for him to set the condition for government on the handling of his case, when he is the one accused and the subject of an arrest warrant,” Marcos said.“Tail wagging the dog” is an idiom that usual...

President Ferdinand Marcos distributes land titles as Bago Vice Mayor Ramon Torres, Negros Occidental Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer and Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, and Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III (l-r) look on in Bago City.*Richard Malihan photo  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. distributed 4,724 Certificates of Land Ownership Awards (CLOA) and Electronic Titles (e-titles) to 2,797 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Negros Occidental, and P69.17 million in farming assistance.The president called the ARBs “living heroes of our time for ensuring that there is enough food on the table of every Filipino family” at the distribution rites at the Manuel Y. Torres Memorial Coliseum and Cultural Center in Bago City, Negros Occidental, on Monday, April 8.“Our gather...

Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla,  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., NGCP President and CEO Anthony Almeda and Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez  (l-r) at the   ceremonial energization of the CNP Backbone Project.* President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the energization of the National Grid Corporation’s P67.98 billion Cebu-Negros-Panay 230kV Backbone will help resolve the power supply challenges that have plagued the Negros and Panay sub-grids, and which have caused very serious economic setbacks for the region.“Power outages are hindrances to progress. Our power system must be the spark to ignite development”, the president said at the ceremonial energization of the CNP Backbone Project Stage 3 at the NGCP Bacolod Substation in Bacolod City Monday morning, April 8.Whi...

President Ferdinand Marcos, accompanied by Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla (right), explains his stand on the NIR in an ambush interview.*PCO photo President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he is signing the Negros Island Region (NIR) bill into law to unify the provinces of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor into one administrative region.The president, in an ambush interview at the ceremonial energization of the Cebu-Negros-Panay Backbone Project at the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines substation in Bacolod City on Monday, April 8, cited the need to bring government services closer to the people.Both Houses of Congress have approved bills seeking the creation of the Negros Island Region. The House of Representa...

The raging grassfire in Isabela Monday night.* A grassfire was raging in a mountainous area of Sitio Ubay, Barangay 9, Isabela, Negros Occidental, Sunday night, April 7.The fire was reported to the Isabela Fire Station at 4:50 p.m., FO1 Justine James Cariaga said.The raging fire could be seen from a distance Sunday night, but Cariaga at 11:45 p.m. told DIGICAST NEGROS is was under control but not out.The fire had been moving upwards.He said firefighters were ensuring that the fire would not reach residential areas in the lowlands.The extent of the area hit by the grassfire was not known yet.The fire was located in an adjacent area to Glory Hill where a 45-foot steel cross is located on a hilltop in Sitio Mantuhod, Barangay Mansablay, Cariaga said.*

Senator Robin Padilla   (5th from left) with the Negros Press Club officers.*Ronnie Baldonado photo Senator Robin Padilla on Saturday, April 6, stressed the importance of the role of the mainstream media in reporting the truth amid the massive proliferation of fake news on social media.People now a days opt to believe what is proliferating on social media from unreliable sources over the truth from trained journalists, Padilla said in his speech at the Negros Press Club (NPC) induction rites at the SMX Convention Center in Bacolod City.He also stressed the need to highlight pressing issues affecting the Filipino people such as the El Niño phenomenon.Padilla, Senate committee on public information and mass media chairman, inducted Erwin "Ambo" Delilan as the new president of...

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is expected to be accompanied by Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla and Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III (l-r)*President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s inauguration of the Cebu-Negros-Panay Backbone Project Stage 3 (CNP3) in Bacolod City will be a big help in ensuring power stability, Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Sunday, April 7.The president is set to lead the ceremonial energization of the project at the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) Bacolod Substation Monday morning, April 8.The president is expected to be accompanied by Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III and Anthony L. Almeda – NGCP president and chief executive officer.The 230-kilovolt CNP3 power...

The Brgy. Cabanbanan winning performers.* Ronnie Baldonado photoBrgy. Cabanbanan was the overall champion in the Street and Arena Dance Competition of the Himaya Festival in Himamaylan City on Sunday, April 7.The Brgy. Cabanbanan contingent bested 16 other barangays and took home P100,000 in cash and another P20,000 for their awards as Most Supportive Group and Best Production Design.Brgy. Nabalian was 1st runner-up and took home P50,000, Brgy. Mambagaton was 2nd runner-up with P30,000, and Brgy. To-oy was 3rd runner-up with P20,000.The Brgy. Nabalian performers also took home another P35,000 for their three special awards, including Best Choreography, Best Street Dance, and Best in Costume.Brgy. Aguisan was awarded as Best in Concept and took home P10,000.Himamayla...

Reading specialists from the United States are training more than 370 public school teachers in 200 schools in the Third District of Negros Occidental and Bacolod City from April to May.The specialist were brought in by Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Benitez (Neg. Occ, 3rd District), 2nd Congressional Commission for Education (EDCOM 2) commissioner, to address the alarming statistics of learning poverty and low literacy rates in the country.The training entitled "Weaving Strands of Literacy Skills into Successful Readers" aims to empower educators with advanced methodologies and strategies to effectively address the challenges associated with early literacy and bridge learning gaps, a press release from his office said Sunday, April 7.Scheduled throughout April and May, the initiative i...