Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras and Global Business Power Corp. officials yesterday warned that Negros Occidental could face a serious power shortage by 2014 to 2015 if it does not start building its own power plant starting this year.

Almendras aired his concern on the power situation in Negros Occidental at a meeting with Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. and his chief of staff, Jose Ma. Valencia, in Manila.

“The secretary said we need a power plant in Negros Occidental very badly and we must act now or face a serious power shortage,” the governor said.

The Government Service and Insurance System is implementing improvements in its system to provide greater convenience and better service to its more than 1.4 million members and 300,000 pensioners.

GSIS chairman Daniel Lacson yesterday said they will operate their own call center by the last quarter of this year that will help address the needs of its active members and pensioners on a 24/7 basis.

He said they have hired a consultancy firm to guide them on how to organize and operate a call center. This will reinforce the assistance/helpline desk set on their websites, as well as GSIS wireless automated processing system (GW@Ps) machines that they have just launched nationwide.

The Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas denied the motion for reconsideration filed by two Bacolod residents against Mayor Evelio Leonardia, and other city officials involving the purchase of sanitary landfill site in Brgy. Felisa, Bacolod City, after finding no convincing and justifiable reason to warrant a reversal of the findings in its Resolution dated Oct. 19, 2009.

The criminal case involving the purchase of the 7-hectare lot for use by the city as sanitary landfill was filed by Sarah Esguerra and dismissed city employee Othello Ramos against the mayor and 14 others.

Included in the case are Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, Councilors Homer Bais, Dindo Ramos, Al Victor Espino, Roberto Rojas, and former councilors Greg Gasataya, Wilson Gamboa Jr., Napoleon Cordova, Alex Paglumotan, Reynold Iledan and