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The Kabankalan City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) is distributing food packs to 1,098 farmers of the city affected by the El Niño drought, starting Tuesday, April 2.The farmers from 14 barangays of Kabankalan will receive food packs from the CSWDO from Tuesday to Friday.They distributed food packs to 28 farmers from Brgy. Binicuil, 21 from Daan Banua, 290 from Hilamonan, 125 from Linao, and 20 from Orong on Tuesday.On Wednesday they will distribute food packs to 301 farmers in Brgy. Camansi, and 115 in Camingawan.Food packs will also be given to 73 farmers in Locotan, 116 in Inapoy, 150 in Magballo, 369 in Bantayan, and 331 in Pinaguinpinan on Thursday.Eleven farmers from Carol-an and 39 from Tan-awan will receive similar assistance from the CSWDO on Fri...

A grassfire at the Talisay-Bacolod border near La Costa Brava Tuesday morning.* Jose Antonio Robello photo Thirteen fires, ten of which were grassfires, hit Bacolod City on Tuesday, April 2, amid a forecasted heat index of 42 degrees Celsius. A grassfire with alarming huge flames hit seven hectares near the Northbound Terminal in Barangay Banago at 5:41 p.m. and was extinguished at about 8 p.m., the Bacolod City Fire Station (BCFS) reported.Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez visited the Missionaries of Charity in Barangay Banago, who care for the indigent elderly and sick, as alarm was raised that the raging grassfire was close to their facility and the smoke could be harmful to their patients. Benitez assured that the nuns and patients at the facility were ok...

The Bureau of Soils and Water Management  (BSWM) maintains that cloud seeding operations will not result in light to moderate rains  in Negros Occidental, especially from  March to April, Gov. Eugenio  Jose Lacson said on Tuesday, April 2. The BSWM maintains that rain cannot be induced due to lack of moisture and less seedable clouds in Negros Occidental. Lacson said he supports the call of Rep. Emilio Yulo III (Neg. Occ., 5th District) for the BSWM to review and reconsider its recommendation against cloud seeding in Negros Occidental. Cloud seeding would somehow help the drought hit crops in the province, he said. Lacson said he spoke to Agriculture Regional Director Dennis Arpia to ask if the recommendation against cloud seeding could be...

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson.* The Negros Occidental provincial government is holding a power summit in May, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Tuesday, April 2. The summit will discuss the province’s shift towards the use of renewable energy, Lacson said. The summit will also tackle the results of a recent Negros Electric Power Forum convened by the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  The power industry stakeholders and business community at the forum passed a resolution for the creation of a Negros Island Power Development Coordinating Council (NIPDCC) to come up with recommendations   for a Negros Island Power Development Roadmap and to meet regularly, Frank Carbon, MBCCI chief executive officer, said. Lacson said he supports...

The Bacolod City government has established two “green routes” that will exclusively use electric (e)-jeepneys to transport passengers. Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Tuesday, April 2,  that at least eight e-jeepneys are now available for dry run for the Vista Alegre and Cabug loops. “I think this is the first in the country. We have eight e-jeeps ready to be deployed. They have obtained the certificate of compliance for registration,” Benitez said. He said the city government has sent a communication to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board on the schedule of the dry run. Benitez said the operators of e-jeepneys, which have been assisted by the city government in obtaining a provisional authority, will go through the same...

The El Niño drought has damaged P97,788,037 in crops and affected  2,585 farmers in   20 out of 31 local government units in Negros Occidental, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Tuesday, April 2. Damage  to rice crops was P93,050,227 and  to corn - P4,737,809 as of March 27 , Provincial Agriculturist Dina Genzola informed the governor. Rice crop damage was highest in Kabankalan City at  P41,910,361 followed by Cauayan at P14,001,540, Ilog - P7,487,370,  Bago City - P7,174,621, Himamaylan City - P3,732,556,  Valladolid - P3,442,846, Hinoba-an - P2,525,595, Candoni - P1,902,455; Sipalay City - P1,697,533,  Binalbagan - P1,202,640,  San Enrique - P1,182,568, Talisay City - P1,115,504, San Carlos City - P929,248, Pulupandan - P8...

The pentavalent vaccine that protects against diptheria, tetanus, pertussis, influenza type B and hepatitis B.*PNA/Joan Bondoc photo A 2-month-old baby girl in Negros Occidental has tested positive for pertussis (whooping cough) in Negros Occidental, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Tuesday, April 2.The baby, who was the first reported pertussis positive case in Negros Occidental this year, has recovered and has been discharged from the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital, Lacson said.There is information that the baby came from a household where there were people who were already coughing, Lacson said.Negros Occidental also has 11 other suspected pertussis cases, while the Bacolod City Health Office (CHO) has reported three babies with probable pertu...

Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has extended the suspension of face-to-face classes in Bacolod City to Wednesday and Thursday, April 3 and 4, with the heat index forecasted to be at 40 degrees Celsius.The suspension of face-to-face classes for pre-school, elementary, secondary, and senior high levels is extended, the mayor announced on his Facebook page on Tuesday.Schools are still encouraged to adopt alternative delivery modes for instructional methods to benefit their students, he said.However, private schools with air-conditioned rooms and tertiary-level institutions may exercise their discretion to continue with face-to-face classes, Benitez said.He reminded the public to stay hydrated.EB Magalona, and the cities of Silay, San Carlos, Talisay and Himamaylan also exte...

Ther turnover of the  livelihood equipment.*DOST VI photo Livelihood equipment were delivered to the Hda. Nalipay Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (HANARBA) in Brgy. 5, Isabela, and Small Farmers Association of Abuanan, Dulao, and Atipuluan (SFAADA) in Bago City, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) reported on Tuesday, April 2.The provision of equipment is part of the Pandayan ng Bayan project that aims to empower local communities in Negros Occidental by improving their manufacturing and metalworking skills, it said.  Funded under DOST’s Community Empowerment through Science and Technology (CEST) Program, the project will provide support to rural industrialization, agricultural development, and creating employment and wealth at the local level, the...

The City Human Settlements and Urban Development Office (CHSUD) opened the model unit of the upcoming Sidlak Residential Complex in Victorias City on Monday, April 1.It is the first housing milestone of Victorias City under the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4Ph) Program, through the Joint Venture Agreement signed between the City, represented by Mayor Javier Miguel L. Benitez, and Developer Scheirman Construction Consolidated Inc., the Victorias public information office reported.Scheirman Construction Consolidated Inc., the Victorias public information office re[portedThe model is patterned from the actual measurements of an individual unit of the housing project, which is 24 square meters, and features the recommended layout of the area, which enhances its appearance a...