Carla P. Gomez

Opposition Councilor Wilson “Jun” Gamboa Jr. said he is filing his certificate for candidacy as vice mayor of Bacolod City before the Comelec on Thursday, October 7.The seven councilor candidates running with him are Alan Arroyo, Cesar Beloria, LR Contreras, Jiffy Jauod, Eduardo Padios, Rico Villafuerte and Christian Weber, he said.He will be running against Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran of Grupo Progreso and former councilor Caesar Distrito of Asenso for a Better Bacolod.*

Former Negros Occidental congressman Alfredo Abelardo Benitez (8th from left) filed his certificate of candidacy for mayor of Bacolod City, with his complete slate, on Tuesday, October 5.*Billionaire former congressman Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, who officially became a candidate for mayor of Bacolod Tuesday, October 5, announced that he has put together a unity ticket composed of a diverse set of candidates who will together bring change to the city.The Certificates of Candidacy (COCs) of his team were filed through his lawyer Andrei Saril to avoid crowding at the Bacolod COMELEC office amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Benitez said at a press conference at his residence at Mountain View Subdivision in Bacolod City held following a mass.The “Asenso for a Better Bacolod” ticket is comp...

City PIO file photoBacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia and his Grupo Progreso (GP) candidates are set to file their Certificates of Candidacy (COCs) before the Commission on Elections Wednesday afternoon, October 6.The whole GP slate will hear mass at the San Sebastian Cathedral at 12:15 p.m. before proceeding to the Comelec.GP is expected to announce some new candidates for councilor after three incumbents left the group to join the team of mayoral candidate Alfredo Abelardo Benitez.Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran said he is running for re-election under the GP ticket.*

Jonry Abagon Gargarita file his COC for vice governor of Negros Occidental.*Rolito Espinosa (center) filed his COC for board member of fifth district of Negros Occidental.*Negros Occidental Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer of the Love Negros-United Negros Alliance (UNegA) coalition is not running for reelection unopposed.Jonry Abagon Gargarita (Independent), a self-employed man from Binalbagan town filed his Certificate of Candidacy for vice governor before the Comelec at the Social Hall of the Capitol in Bacolod City on Tuesday, October 5.Sixto “Pal” Guanzon Jr. (UNegA), through his sister retired judge Frances Guanzon, filed his COC for reelection as board member of the second district of Negros Occidental.Rolito Espinosa (Lakas CMD), a Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative...

Courtesy of Rad GarciaTwo incumbent councilors of Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, facing what they say are trumped up charges for murder marched from the town police station jail to the Commission on Elections office to file their certificates of candidacy (COC) for reelection Tuesday morning, October 5.The two are Councilors Vincent Garcia and Morito Flores who were implicated in the murder of town councilor Jolomar Hilario in 2019.They were accompanied by Mayor Ella Garcia Yulo and her entire slate who also filed their COCs.They were also accompanied in the march by co-accused Quintin Remo Barangay Captain Felisa Villaflor, and her husband, Jonathan, who were also in handcuffs, Yulo said.Yulo's running mate Vice Mayor Ian Villafor and reelectionist Councilor Jimmie Don...

The Negros Occidental provincial government will conduct rapid antigen tests of close contacts of COVID-19 positive Negrenses in the top ten local government units hit by the virus, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Tuesday, October 5.The antigen tests will augment the RT-PCR testing also being conducted, he said.He said the antigen tests have a 94 percent accuracy rate but will hasten the local government units placing those hit by COVID-19 in quarantine to prevent the further spread of the virus.Antigen test results come out in 15 minutes or less, he said.Negros Occidental had 4,019 active COVID-19 cases and 11 new deaths Tuesday, the Provincial Incident Management Team reported.The province is initially preparing for 7,500 rapid anti-gen tests that were ap...

Photo from Albee Benitez FBThe Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) has dismissed the petition of three Grupo Progreso allies to exclude former Rep. Alfredo Abelardo ”Albee” Benitez from the list of voters of Bacolod City for lack of merit.Bacolod MTCC Branch 4 Judge Francisco Pando on October 1 dismissed the petition filed by Hector Yula, Teodoro Abao and Jonah Tornea Abao to exclude Benitez from the list of registered voters of Precinct No. 0629A in Barangay Madalagan, Bacolod City.Benitez's lawyer, Andrei Norman Saril, said they received a copy of the 28-page “very comprehensive” decision on Monday, October 4.The MTCC dismissal of the petition was expected as it was the same as the one filed before the Bacolod Election Registration Board (ERB) that was also dismissed, ...

Rep. Greg Gasataya filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) Monday, October 4, for reelection as congressman of Bacolod City under the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) ticket.Lawyer Mark Steven Mayo (NPC), technical consultant of Gasataya, also filed his COC for councilor of Bacolod City.Gasataya and Mayo said they are staying neutral as far as the Bacolod mayoral race is concerned. It appears that Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia and mayoral candidate Alfredo Abelardo Benitez will not be fielding congressional bets in their slates.“As I have said when I announced that I would be running as neutral, I made this decision with the lives of my kasimanwas in mind,” Gasataya stressed.He said he is seeking a third term to ensure that the Bacolod City General Hospital will be re...

Victorias mayoral candidate Javi Benitez (left) and former Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez raise the hands of Rep. Francisco Benitez (center) after he filed his COC on Monday, October 4.*Andy Alvarez photoRep. Francisco “Kiko” Benitez filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) for a second term as congressman of the third district of Negros Occidental before the provincial Commission on Elections at the Social Hall of the Capitol in Bacolod City, Monday afternoon, October 4.Benitez, who is a member of the PDP Laban Cusi Wing, appealed to his constituents to return the love he has shown them by supporting him in the May 2022 polls.Among his many priorities will be the digital transformation of the third district as part of the economic recovery efforts due to the COVID-19 pand...

The Philippine Coast Guard cancelled sea travel out of Bacolod City and northern Negros Occidental Monday, October 4, as Signal No.1 was hoisted over the province due to Tropical Depression “Lannie”.There were 187 passengers in the Bacolod City, Escalante City, San Carlos City and Sagay City ports who were stranded, he said.Also stranded were 108 rolling cargoes and 11 vessels, he said.The PCG cancelled sea travel to and from Bacolod City to Dumangas in Iloilo, Escalante City and Sagay City to Tabuelan, Cebu, and San Carlos City to Toledo City, Cebu, Librilla said.Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson placed the disaster operation centers in the towns and cities of Negros Occidental under red alert status on Monday until the tropical depression exits.Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia a...