Officials call for prayers,
brace for super storm
BY CARLA GOMEZ

Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. and Bacolod Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson yesterday called for prayers that Negros Occidental and the Philippines be spared, as authorities warned the public to take precautions against what could be the most powerful storm to hit the country this year.

Western Visayas search and rescue groups, including those of the Philippine National Police, have been placed on alert for the expected super typhoon.

Typhoon "Pablo" entered the Philippine area of responsibility last night, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.

Mayor hikes teachers’ ECOLA
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO

Bacolod City public school teachers will receive an additional P500 to their existing P1,500 Emergency Cost of Living Allowance, or a total of P2,000 a month, starting January.

The early Christmas gift was announced by Mayor Evelio Leonardia at the annual gathering of Bacolod City public school teachers Saturday at the Bacolod City Government Center, and it was greeted with cheers and gratitude by the teachers

Leonardia told the teachers, “Together with the Bacolodnons, you brought me back as mayor in 2004, and at the time, the city owed you some P65 million of unpaid ECOLA, payables that my administration religiously paid over five to six years, as promised, while still paying you an ECOLA of P1,000 a month.”

A temporary truck-ban is being planned for the Sum-ag road in Bacolod City, that is being repaired, after a sugarcane truck fell on its side in the area Friday, Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, said yesterday.

Three persons were hospitalized when the cane loaded on the truck fell on them past 9 p.m. Friday. The incident also caused traffic congestion in the area as only one lane was left usable.

Sayson said he met with Insp. Renato Ofamen , acting chief of the Bacolod City Traffic Management Unit, on the proposal for the truck ban at the Sum-ag road to avoid similar accidents.