BACOLOD CITY -Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has reconvened the Bacolod Anti-Smoking Task Force (BASTF) to resume the enforcement of the city's anti-smoking ordinance after it was stopped at the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. "The BASTF was convened previously and its action team was organized to enforce the ordinance but eventually halted its operation due to the emergence of the pandemic," said Benitez, who chairs the task force, with Councilor Simplicia Distrito as the vice chairperson. A copy of Executive Order (EO) 34-22 released by the city government on Monday stated that the BASTF, with new members, will continue to implement, reinforce, and monitor the ordinance and protect it from tobacco industry interference at all times. It will also conduct educational awareness campaigns, information dissemination programs, and capacity building programs that will inform the constituents and train enforcement officers. As the task force chair, Be
SHELTER PROGRAM. Housing Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar (2nd from left) and Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez lead the signing of the memorandum of understanding for the development of 10,000 housing units for informal settler families (ISFs) in rites at the Bacolod Government Center on Saturday (Sep. 3, 2022). The shelter units will be built starting October as part of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development's "Pambansang Pabahay Para Sa Pilipino: Zero ISF Program for 2028." (PNA photo by Nanette L. Guadalquiver) BACOLOD CITY - The city government here will soon build 10,000 housing units for informal settler families (ISFs) in partnership with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD). In rites at the Bacolod Government Center on Saturday, Housing Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar and Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) to start the establishment of the Yuhum Village in the city thi
SEEKING FRESH MANDATE. Negros Occidental 3rd district Rep. Jose Francisco Benitez, who is running for a second term, files his certificate of candidacy on Monday (Oct. 4, 2021) before the Commission on Elections provincial office based at the Social Hall of the Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City. Among the lawmaker's priority projects is the implementation of major flood control projects. (Contributed Photo) BACOLOD CITY - Major flood control projects are underway in the 3rd district of Negros Occidental where various localities experienced massive floods that displaced thousands in the early days of January this year. Rep. Jose Francisco Benitez said they requested for a funding of about PHP6.6 billion mainly from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for various projects. "It's partly delivered, partly ongoing. We are still waiting for more funding to arrive from (the) central government," said Benitez, who filed his certificate of candidacy for a secon