‘MassKara invigorates
people’s spirit of unity’
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO

 “Every year that we celebrate the MassKara Festival is like a recharging process that invigorates our people, and that is why this is a necessity for our soul, to keep Bacolod moving forward and surging ahead,” Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia said last night.

Thousands gathered at the Bacolod City Government Center last night where they were entertained by fireworks and performances rendered by the winning participants in the Electric MassKara and the streetdance competitions, during the event called Salute to Bacolod.

Giant La Consolacion College-Arfien puppets were an added attraction around the fountain area last night.

A military officer in northern Negros said it is possible the Negros First Ranch in Brgy. Santa Rosa, Murcia, was a target of the New People’s Army men intercepted last week at a checkpoint in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental.

The officer, who requested anonymity, said the ranch, which will house 1,200 imported breeding cows and sheep, is an ideal target of the NPA, based on their analysis. The rebels were on board two luxury vans, when they were intercepted at the highway of San Carlos City, that leads to Don Salvador Benedicto and Murcia towns.

The Negros First Ranch is a flagship project of Governor Alfredo Marañon for his food security program.

Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. yesterday said the P2.5 billion German investment in an 18-megawatt power plant in San Carlos City and the plan to build two more in Negros Occidental is very good for the province.

“This is very good for the province and very good for our economy,” Marañon said, pointing out that the province, that is faced with a power shortage, needs its own plants.

Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras has 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.