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Former Rep. Genaro Alvarez Jr. authored the law creating the new barangay*Barangay Tagukon in Kabankalan City is now a nationally recognized  barangay, Rep.  Mercedes Alvarez (Neg. Occ., 6th District) announced Wednesday,  August 3.The bill creating the barangay filed by her father, former Rep. Genaro Alvarez Jr., lapsed into law on July 30 without the signature of former president Rodrigo Duterte.Republic Act No. 11922 separates Sitio Tagukon from Barangay Camingawan in Kabankalan into a distinct and separate barangay to be known as Barangay Tagukon.An earlier plebiscite supervised by the Commission on Elections pursuant to Provincial Ordinance No. 93-002, Series of 1993, of the Negros Occidental Sangguniang Panlalawigan, ratified the creation of Barangay Ta...

Negros Occidental Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer (right) with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday, August 3.*President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed Negros Occidental Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer personal adviser for Western Visayas without a salary.Ferrer, who met with the president Wednesday, August 3, said he did not accept the position of presidential adviser with an equivalent rank of Cabinet secretary because it would mean his having to step down as vice governor.He will not abandon his post as vice governor because he has an obligation to the close to 820,000 Negrenses who voted for him, Ferrer said.Ferrer, who thanked the President for his trust and confidence said his being a Personal Adviser will give Negrenses a direct line to the president through him...

Thee Bacolod SP session on Wednesday, August 3.The Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod on Wednesday, August 3, granted Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez authority to negotiate with six private hospitals for their participation in  the Bacolod Comprehensive Health Program (BacCHP), Councilor Al Victor Espino said.The SP granted the mayor’s request for a resolution granting him authority to negotiate with   the Bacolod Adventist Medical Center, Dr. Pablo O. Torre Memorial Hospital, Bacolod Queen of Mercy Hospital, The Doctors’ Hospital, Metro Bacolod Hospital and Medical Center and South Bacolod General Hospital and Medical Center.Registration of Bacolodnons for BaCHP coverage has begun, Benitez said on Monday.“We are now discussing what kind of coverage can be given, ...

Social Security System officials hold a press conference on the SSS Run After Contribution Evaders (RACE) campaign in Bacolod City on Thursday, August 4.*Social Security System officials served Show Cause Orders to non-compliant employers in Bacolod City on Thursday, July 4, as part of the SSS Run After Contribution Evaders (RACE) campaign.The SSS Bacolod and Bacolod East branches have listed 1,911 employers under their jurisdictions with P81 million in contribution delinquencies, some of whom have already paid their obligations.SSS officials led by Lilani Benedian, SSS vice president for Visayas West 1 Division, said they served Show Cause Orders to five of six delinquent employers under the SSS Bacolod East Branch on Thursday, and more will be served on Friday.SSS is seri...

Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz*The Negros Occidental provincial government surveillance against monkey pox and COVID-19 at the Bacolod Silay Airport and at seaports is ongoing, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said on Wednesday, August 3.“We have never abandoned our posts”, he assured.They are studying the possibility of requiring isolation areas for persons hit with monkey pox, he said.“The concern has been forwarded to the Hospital Operations Department so even if monkey pox strikes here we will have a health facility ready to address patients’ needs,” he said.Monkey pox is a viral zoonosis with symptoms similar to those seen in smallpox patients. Meanwhile, there were 34 new COVID-19 cases in Negros Occidental on Wednesday bringing the total ...

PCL Negros Occidental president Ryan Gamboa presents a plaque of appreciation to Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson at the summit on Thursday*Richard Malihan photo“Let us not allow pandemic fatigue.”That was stressed by Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson in his speech at the Western Visayas Philippine Councilors League unity summit at the SMX Convention Center in Bacolod City Thursday, August 4.The theme of the summit is “One Region, One Goal for a United PCL”.Lacson said with all the challenges being faced, local officials of the region cannot afford not to be united in working towards recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.“Now it is quite clear that the pandemic might be here longer than we thought,“ he said, noting that as officials they know how the COVID...

More than 2,000 informal settler families living in Bacolod coastal areas are among the priorities for relocation to mid-rise housing settlements to be built by the city government, Councilor Vladimir Gonzalez said Wednesday, August 3.He said social preparations have to be conducted first so planning will come from the bottom up.Residents living near congested coastal areas and waterways need to be relocated because they live within danger zones, Gonzalez said.The city’s shorelines and waterways also need to be cleared of illegal structures to prevent flooding, he added.They will prioritize areas that contribute to floods, he said.The Benitez administration aims to build 5,000 housing units in onsite mid-rise buildings to avoid dislocating residents from their sources o...

A scene from the controversial film “Maid in Malacañang.”*San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza is calling for a boycott of the controversial  film “Maid in Malacañang”.Alminaza described the film as “shameless”, and called on the people behind it to issue an apology.The movie supposedly depicts the last 72 hours of  the Marcos family in Malacañang Palace before they fled the country.A trailer of the movie showed the late president Cory Aquino playing mahjong with a group of nuns, which was condemned by critics.Aquino sought refuge overnight at the Carmelite monastery in Cebu during the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution.Alminaza stressed that “the producer, scriptwriter, director and those promoting this movie should publicly apologize to the Carmelite nuns, ...