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The Department of Education (DepEd) Division of Negros Occidental has issued a health advisory on mpox (formerly monkeypox) to ensure preparedness even as the Provincial Health Office (PHO) has not recorded any confirmed cases of the viral illness in the province. In a memorandum released on Monday, June 2, Schools Division Superintendent Anthony Liobet said …

Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez on Monday, June 2, announced the city government will start selling P20 per kilo rice under the “Benteng Bigas Meron (BBM) Na” program on Thursday, June 5 with an initial budget of P8 million. “We will launch it on Thursday. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. will arrive to …

Bacolod City has the highest basic literacy rate while Siquijor province has the highest functional literacy in the Negros Island Region (NIR), data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed on Monday, June 2. Based on the 2024 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS), Bacolod City has the highest basic literacy rate at …

The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has declared the spread of the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) in Negros Island “alarming,” prompting the agency to seek emergency powers and the assistance of other government bodies to contain the pest. “Given the rate of spread, this is an emergency,” SRA Deputy Administrator Ignacio Santillana said. The SRA …

The Negros Occidental provincial government will open the bidding process again for its P1.2 billion bulk water supply project. Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said the water rates proposed by the lone bidder at P24 per cubic meter have become too expensive for the water districts. The provincial government plans to increase its share or equity …

The infestation of red-striped soft scale insects (RSSI) has now affected 186 hectares of sugarcane plantations in Negros Occidental, according to the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA). The RSSI infestation, first detected in the northern part of the province in late May, has since spread to multiple key sugar-producing areas, impacting the livelihoods of at least …

The Regional Task Force (RTF) Kanlaon lifted over the weekend the prohibition of entry within the volcano’s six-kilometer extended danger zone but maintains the strict monitoring of volcanic activity in the Negros Island Region. Evacuated residents are again allowed to return home, during the window period between 6:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., to carry out …

The Negros Occidental Provincial Health Office (PHO) has directed health facilities, hospitals and local government units in the province to prioritize patients with skin lesions or rashes, as a precautionary measure amid confirmed monkeypox (mpox) cases in other parts of the country, including neighboring Iloilo province. PHO head Dr. Girlie Pinongan said the directive follows …

A total of P145,583,989.76 in humanitarian aid has been provided to families affected by the continuous restiveness of Kanlaon Volcano since December 2024, based on data from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). The amount includes P117,048,693.76 from the DSWD, P13,609,484 from the local government units, and the remaining P14,925,812.00 came from non-government …

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said local government units (LGUs) and the national government have to prepare and sustain a long-term plan for a major eruption of Mt. Kanlaon in Negros island. Mariton Bornas, Phivolcs’ chief of the Volcano Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division, said in an interview in Dumaguete City that …