Members of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board are set to convene Monday to deliberate on a petition for a P50 wage increase in Western Visayas, Labor Regional Director Aida Estabillo said yesterday.

The petition for a wage increase had been filed by the National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, NACUSIP president Zoilo de la Cruz said earlier.

Estabillo said the wage board will take into consideration the current economic situation, including the rising prices of rice in their deliberations.

Negros Occidental Gov. Isidro Zayco yesterday pledged to allocate P40 million for the improvement of communal irrigation systems and for agricultural inputs that will help rice farmers in the province increase their productivity.

Zayco, who spoke at the forum on the “Development Plan on Provincially-Implemented Irrigation Systems for Sustainable Agriculture at the Grand Regal Hotel in Bacolod City,” said he will ask the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to set aside the amount, P30 million of which will go to irrigation programs and P10 million, to farm inputs.

The need to improve the communal irrigation systems was among the concerns raised by forum participants, numbering about 120, including town mayors, agriculturists, rice farmers and other local government representatives.

The Bacolod IT Program has been cited as Best Local Government Practice in Western Visayas and Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia and Councilor Jocelle Batapa-Sigue will receive the award at the Iloilo Grand Hotel in Iloilo City today.

Presidential Management Staff chief Serge Remonde will be the guest of honor at the awarding ceremonies.

The Bacolod Information Technology Investment Program won first place in the 2006-2007 Best Public Sector Projects Awards for Western Visayas for the local government category as adjudged by the Regional Development Council.