Carla P. Gomez

Contributed photoAbout 100 members of the Federation of Urban Poor in Negros Occidental clad in yellow honored former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. on his 38th death anniversary by laying flowers at the foot of his statue at Araneta Street in Bacolod City on Saturday, August 21, FED UP head Joy Jarabelo said.“Like Ninoy, we must defend our country from those who are destroying it now”, she said.He had opposed the Marcos regime and was assassinated at the Manila International Airport, now the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, on Aug. 21, 1983 on his return from self-exile in the United States.Jarabelo said they marked the death anniversary of the senator to thank him, and former presidents Cory and Noynoy Aquino for the sacrifices they made to ensure that dignity, jus...

3ID photosFour alleged Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army rebels with high-powered firearms were apprehended by the Army’s 11th Infantry (Lapu-Lapu) Battalion and Philippine National Police in Sitio, Tamlang, Barangay Talalak, Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental on Wednesday, August 18.The troops conducted a strike operation in response to information given by the local populace on the presence of armed rebels in the area.Lt. Col. Roderick Salayo, 11th IB acting commanding officer, identified them as Roel Casilao alias Garry, Allan Ybañez alias Ban, Joselie Lasas alias Tete, and Jestoni Lasas alias Tata, of the Local Guerilla Unit, South Eastern Front.Confiscated from their possession were two M-14 rifles, one M-16 rifle, one shotgun, three magazines of an M-14...

Kerima Lorena Tariman on the cover of the UP Collegian in 1999 (left photo). She was a poet and former managing editor of the Philippine Collegian.*Kiri Dalena photo courtesy of Pablo TarimanA former managing editor of the Philippine Collegian, the student publication of the University of the Philippines, was one of the two rebels killed in an encounter between the 79th Infantry “Masaligan” Battalion soldiers and the New People’s Army fighters in Silay City, Negros Occidental, Friday, August 20, her father said Saturday, August 21.Writer Pablo Tariman said the fatality was his daughter Kerima Lorena Tariman, 42.“I am proud of my daughter. She was consistent all the way. I like the way she lived her life. In poetry and commitment. I was ready for this death years back. When it...

3ID photoA government soldier and two alleged New People’s Army rebels were killed in an encounter in Barangay Kapitan Ramon, Silay City, in Negros Occidental 6 a.m. Friday, August 20, Maj. Cenon Pancito III, spokesperson of the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, said.The 79th Infantry “Masaligan” Battalion soldiers while conducting combat operations in Hacienda Raymunda, Barangay Kapitan Ramon, encountered 10 fully armed remnants of the NPA Northern Negros Front, Pancito said.A 35-minute firefight ensued after the soldiers responded to reports of the presence of armed men conducting recruitment and extortion activities, an Army report said.Killed in the encounter was PFC Christopher Alada of Barangay Indorohan, Badiangan, Iloilo, who “died a hero protecting the peopl...

PIMT photoThe Negros Occidental provincial government has finally been granted permission to vaccinate economic frontliners or those under the A4 priority group, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Friday, August 20.The provincial government will step up the vaccination of A4 residents with the arrival of 80,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines next week and with the use of its remaining AstraZeneca vaccines, Diaz said.It is now clear to the Department of Health that local governments are having a difficulty reaching their vaccination targets for senior citizens belonging to the A2 category, he said.Negros Occidental this week reached 61 percent of its A2 category target and hopes to reach 100 percent by next week, Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, Provincial Health Officer, said ear...

Rolie Omega Pendon worked in Afghanistan for nine years*A Bacolod resident who was able to leave Kabul, Afghanistan, before its takeover by the Taliban this month is now in search of a job.Rolie Omega Pendon, 43, of Barangay Mandalagan, who had worked in Kabul for nine years, said he hopes to find a job in Bacolod City so he does not have to work abroad anymore.“I’m very happy to be with my family, but sad because I have no work,” he said.Pendon, an administrative and human resource manager in the Kabul automotive industry, said he started working there in 2006 and was transferred to Uganda and Somalia before he was reassigned to Afghanistan.He has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology degree from the University of St. La Salle. He worked as a disc jockey for Love Radio whil...

Negros Occidental currently has the lowest COVID-19 Average Daily Attack Rate (ADAR) in Western Visayas, Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, Provincial Health Officer, said Thursday afternoon, August 19.The Department of Health reported that the ADAR of Negros Occidental is 1.60 percent per 100,000 population making it a low risk area , and it is also the lone province in Western Visayas under Alert Level 1 for COVID-19, Tumimbang said.In second place is Capiz with an ADAR of 4.51 percent followed by Bacolod City at 5.75 percent, Iloilo province – 7.91 percent, Guimaras - 8.72 percent, Antique – 9.54 percent, Iloilo City – 16. 31 percent and Aklan – 16.61 percent.The health system capacities of Negros Occidental and Bacolod City have also been classified as low risk, he said.*