In a bold move to ease financial burdens for Filipino households, Primelectric Holdings Inc. (PHI), through its distribution subsidiaries — MORE Power, Negros Power and Bohol Light — announced substantial electricity rate reductions for June 2025. These private utilities continue to deliver on their promise of providing affordable, reliable and efficient power, bringing meaningful relief …
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OCD sets up more tents for Kanlaon evacuees
By CESAR JOLITO III The Office of Civil Defense in Negros Island Region (OCD-NIR) continues to set up tents for residents displaced by the ongoing unrest of Kanlaon Volcano, as many evacuees remain in schools. OCD-NIR Director Donato Sermeno III said tents are currently being put up at the Cabacungan National High School – Masulog Extension …
Transition will not disrupt public services, new Bacolod admin assures
The incoming administration of Bacolod City Mayor-elect Greg Gasataya wants to assure residents that the transition into the new governance will not disrupt public service. Gasataya’s transition team head, Mark Steven Mayo, said he had already received the documents from outgoing Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez’s transition team on Friday, June 20. Mayo added that the …
RSSI-hit LGUs urged to declare state of calamity
By MAE SINGUAY The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) is urging local government units (LGUs) hardly hit by red-striped soft scale insects (RSSI) to declare a state of calamity, as this will help them in expediting the procurement of pesticides to help abate the infestation. The number of LGUs affected by RSSI infestation has resulted in …
NPA owns Calatrava farmer’s death
A unit of the Roselyn Jean Pelle Command of the New People’s Army (RJPC-NPA) has claimed responsibility for the death of a 63-year-old farmer at Barangay Minapasok in Negros Occidental’s Calatrava town on Wednesday, June 18. The victim, identified as Tolindoy Nepalar, was pronounced dead following the incident. RJPC, in a statement released on Thursday, …
More scholarships for NegOcc youth in 2026
By CESAR JOLITO III The Negros Occidental provincial government is set to expand its support for education in 2026, with new scholarship programs in the making to benefit more young Negrenses. Provincial Administrator Atty. Rayfrando Diaz II said there is now an unappropriated amount reserved for the scholarship program, ensuring continued assistance to deserving students. …
Negrense consumers benefit from lower power rates in June
Residential consumers in Negros Occidental are expected to pay lower power rates as two electric cooperatives availed of reduced prices from the suppliers and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in June. The Northern Negros Electric Cooperative (Noneco) announced a downward adjustment of P0.5673 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to P12.7225 per kWh this month, from P13.2898 …
IDPs living outside Kanlaon’s EDZ return home
Internally displaced persons (IDPs), whose homes lie beyond Kanlaon Volcano’s six-kilometer extended danger zone (EDZ), have returned home. After a consultative meeting and careful deliberation, local officials have allowed some 897 IDPs, or 254 families, who reside outside the EDZ, to decamp and return to their villages. According to the La Carlota City Information Office …
Bacolod to host first Terra Madre
By CESAR JOLITO III Bacolod City will make history as it hosts the first-ever Terra Madre Asia and Pacific, a regional edition of the globally renowned Terra Madre event, at the Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol Lagoon and Park from November 19 to 23, 2025. With the theme “From soil to sea: A slow food journey …
Gasataya gears up for smooth transition as next city mayor
Outgoing Bacolod City Lone District Representative Greg Gasataya is getting ready for a smooth transition as he takes over as mayor on June 30, succeeding Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, who was also elected as this highly urbanized city’s next congressman. “It will definitely be a smooth transition. We have the same vision. We came from …