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By CESAR JOLITO III Provincial officials will hold a second public hearing in Negros Occidental’s E.B. Magalona town regarding the proposed Negros bulk water supply project that seeks to utilize water resources from the Malogo River, amid continuing concerns from residents over its possible impact on agriculture and local water supply. Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson …

By CESAR JOLITO III Negros Occidental 3rd District Representative Javier Miguel Benitez is pushing for the creation of a free, consolidated and artificial intelligence (AI)-searchable database of Philippine laws and court rulings, warning that access to justice in the country has effectively become divided between those who can afford legal resources and those who cannot. …

By CESAR JOLITO III Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said the national government remains ready to assist communities in the province should Kanlaon Volcano erupt again. Lacson said Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., during his recent visit to the province last week, expressed concern over the continuing challenges faced by families displaced by Kanlaon’s …

By CESAR JOLITO III Toboso Mayor Richard Jaojoco criticized the Northern Negros Electric Cooperative (Noneco) for what he described as a lack of transparency in the long-delayed election of its board of directors, saying the cooperative’s governance issues are now affecting public trust and service delivery. Jaojoco said the election for the Noneco board representative …

By CESAR JOLITO III Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante, Jr. has called on teachers and school officials to remain vigilant against alleged recruitment efforts by the New People’s Army (NPA) targeting students in schools and universities. Escalante said local educators must closely monitor school environments to prevent young people from being influenced or recruited by …

By CESAR JOLITO III Bacolod City Mayor Greg Gasataya has granted special permits to 42 ambulant vendors operating along North Capitol Road, popularly known as the lagoon area, in a move aimed at balancing livelihood protection with the city’s intensified road-clearing operations. The permits, processed through the Business Permits and Licensing Office with assistance from …

By CESAR JOLITO III The Police Regional Office in the Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR) has launched a 15-day Revitalized Pulis sa Barangay (R-PSB) training program aimed at strengthening community-based policing and improving peace and order efforts at the grassroots level across Negros Island. The training formally opened at the Regional Information and Training Center (RITC) …

By CESAR JOLITO III Local chief executives in Negros Occidental have expressed strong support for the proposed P12-billion farm-to-market road program endorsed by the Provincial Development Council (PDC), describing it as a major step toward modernizing agriculture and improving rural connectivity across the province. The funding allocation forms part of the province’s proposed 2027 Annual …

By CESAR JOLITO III Labor group General Alliance of Workers Association (GAWA) expressed disappointment over the decision of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in Western Visayas to dismiss a petition seeking a P250 daily wage increase for private sector workers in the region. In a press statement, GAWA Secretary General Wennie Sancho …

Recent defeats of New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Toboso and Cauayan, Negros Occidental have shown the “irreversible collapse of the remaining communist terrorist infrastructure” in the region, a ranking National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) official said. These losses, NTF-ELCAC Executive Director Undersecretary Ernesto Torres, Jr. said, shatter the communist …