Bacolod has come
a long way – Koko
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO

“Bacolod City has, indeed come a long way after 75 years since then Assemblyman Pedro Hernaez of the second district of Negros Occidental sponsored the bill creating the City of Bacolod,” Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III yesterday said during the 75th Commemoration of the Signing of the Charter of the City of Bacolod.

Pimentel said that since the historic event when the Municipality of Bacolod was elevated into a city through Commonwealth Act 326 on June 18, 1838 – Bacolod City has steadily risen to become a dynamic, forward-looking metropolis that has since attracted lots of businesses that, in turn, have catalyzed economic development in this part of the country.

“That is why I was not surprised when Bacolod was recently ranked No. 1 in a survey by MoneySense Magazine as the ‘Best Place to Live in the Philippines’, and ranked third among the top 10 ‘Next Wave Cities in the Philippines’, according to a 2010 report of the Commission on Information Communications Technology,” he said.

City honors top taxpayers
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO

The Bacolod City government awarded 20 outstanding taxpayers and gave the Mayor’s special citations to two individuals and a foundation, during the 75th Commemoration of the Signing of the Charter of the City of Bacolod yesterday, at the Bacolod City Government Center.

Bacolod Congressman-elect and Mayor Evelio Leonardia, City Administrator John Orola and Councilors Em Ang, Sonya Verdeflor, Catalino Alisbo, Roberto Rojas and Caesar Distrito were joined by re-elected Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel and the Mayor’s wife, Elsa Leonardia, in giving out the awards and special citations.

The top five realty taxpayers for 2012 were Ricardo Yanson Jr., Jerry Ong, Jacinto Palma, Belina Ong, and Tomas De Leon Jr.

Two brothers get 18 years
for murder of sister’s partner
BY CARLA GOMEZ

Two brothers were sentenced yesterday to 18 years imprisonment for the murder of a fellow trisikad driver who was the live-in partner of their sister.

Bacolod Regional Trial Court Branch 49 Judge Manuel Cardinal Jr. found brothers Hancel and Melando Cabrera Salon guilty beyond reasonable doubt of murder and sentenced them to 10 years and one day as minimum to 18 years, eight months and one day as maximum imprisonment, to be served at the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa, Rizal.

They were found guilty of assaulting and stabbing Ranil Abdon Luar and causing his death at Hernaez Street in Barangay 36, Bacolod City, on July 8, 2008.