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By CESAR JOLITO III All 19 city mayors from the Negros Island Region (NIR) formally joined President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and Education Secretary Sonny Angara at Malacañang Palace on Monday, February 23, for the ceremonial signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the Nationwide Classroom Building Program. The agreement cements a partnership between the …

By CESAR JOLITO III The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has completed the distribution of P33.7 million in emergency cash assistance to families affected by recent adverse events in Negros Occidental’s La Carlota City, concluding a four-day Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) payout. A total of 4,182 families received assistance during the final payout …

By CESAR JOLITO III The Police Regional Office in the Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR) has ordered heightened security measures across Negros Island for the 40th EDSA People Power Revolution Anniversary today. PRO-NIR Director Arnold Thomas Ibay, in a directive issued on Monday, February 23, instructed provincial directors, chiefs of police and force commanders to roll …

By CESAR JOLITO III Local government units (LGUs) may order the suspension of work in government offices and classes in public schools under the general welfare clause of the Local Government Code, but they cannot compel private establishments to follow suit, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) clarified yesterday. Atty. Neil Andrew …

By CESAR JOLITO III The Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) has unanimously approved on third and final reading a landmark ordinance reforming the city’s Social Pension Program for Persons With Disabilities (PWDs), significantly expanding eligibility and tightening safeguards to ensure aid reaches the most vulnerable sectors. Authored by Caesar Distrito, chair of the SP Committee on …

Bacolod City is set to install trash traps and flood warning level markers in its major waterways as part of the local government’s reinforced flood mitigation efforts. In a statement yesterday, Mayor Greg Gasataya said the heavy-duty trash traps will be placed in seven priority waterways to intercept waste before it clogs creeks and rivers …

By CESAR JOLITO III A total of 30 illegal structures along major roads in Bacolod City’s Barangays 1 and 2 were demolished by the Bacolod City Legal Office (CLO) as part of the city government’s continuing campaign to clear public roads and sidewalks of obstructions. CLO enforcement team head, retired Police Colonel Levy Pangue said …

By CESAR JOLITO III More than 14,000 families, or an estimated 70,000 individuals, could be affected if the alert status of Kanlaon Volcano is raised to Alert Level 3, authorities warned. Donato Sermeno III, director of the Office of Civil Defense in the Negros Island Region, said the estimate is based on the potential expansion …

By CESAR JOLITO III Church leaders, faith-based organizations and sectoral groups in Bacolod City and parts of Negros Occidental will stage a unity march on Wednesday, February 25, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution, underscoring renewed calls to confront poverty and corruption. During a press briefing, Fr. Arman Onion of …

By CESAR JOLITO III The Negros Occidental provincial government has taken a major step toward long-term disaster risk reduction after designating an 8.6-hectare property in La Castellana town’s Barangay Talaptap as a permanent relocation site for residents living within the four- to six-kilometer danger zone of Kanlaon Volcano. The development was confirmed by Provincial Administrator …