Fire destroys
57 city houses
BY SHIELA GELERA

Fifty-seven houses were destroyed, 10 persons were injured and about P1.5 million worth of properties lost when fire broke out at about 8:40 a.m. yesterday in Purok Magtiayon, Brgy. 10 in Bacolod City.

Chief Insp. Bartolome Beliran, fire marshal of the City Bureau of Fire Protection, said the fire that lasted for almost two hours, affected about 274 families.

The number of families affected was four times the number of houses destroyed because some of them were occupied by two to five families.

Ayala confirms
start of P6B dev’t
ON CAPITOL PROPERTY, MARAÑON SAYS
BY CARLA GOMEZ

NegrosOccidentalGov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. yesterday announced that Ayala Land Inc. hasreiterated its commitment to develop the 7.7-hectare provincial government property in Bacolod City into an integrated mixed-used civic and commercial township.

The ALI development of the property that will cost more than P6 billion, and the opening of the provincial government-funded Negros First CyberCentre, that will create 5,000 IT-BPO jobs and 15,000 indirect jobs by mid-year, will further boost the position of Negros Occidental as new growth center of the country, he said.

Bayanihan Award
conferred on guv
BY GILBERT BAYORAN

The Armed Forces of the Philippines yesterday conferred on Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. the “Bayanihan Award” for taking a lead role in the implementation of the Internal Peace and Security Plan-Bayanihan in Negros Occidental, that aims to promote peace and development of insurgency-affected communities.

Maj. Gen. John Bonafos, commander of the AFP Central Command in Visayas, gave the Bayanihan Award to Marañon in behalf of AFP chief of staff Gen. Emmanuel Bautista, during a forum on Peace, Integration and Development at the Provincial Capitol Social Hall in Bacolod City.

Bonafos said the award was supposed to be given to Marañon during the AFP day celebration in December last year, in recognition of his all-out support and that of the provincial government, and partnership in the implementation of Bayanihan plan.