Marchel P. Espina

PRISON BREAK. The five prisoners of the Negros Occidental District Jail in Bago City who escaped on Tuesday, June 29.*NODJ photosFive prisoners of the Negros Occidental District Jail in Bago City broke out of their cells and escaped Tuesday, June 29.Lawyer Jairus Anthony Dogelio, spokesperson of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)-6, said a manhunt operation for the escapees, who are considered high-risk because of the cases they are facing, is ongoing.The BJMP-6 is offering a P50,000 reward to anyone who can give information that would lead to the capture of the five prisoners, at P10,000 for each inmate, he said.The escapees were identified as:Francisco Epogon of Cauayan town, who is said to be part of the notorious Epogon robbery group that is based in...

The Negros Occidental police recorded its first coronavirus fatality.He was a 42-year-old staff sergeant assigned at the Sipalay City Police Station, Lt. Abegael Donasco, Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office information officer, said Tuesday, June 29.The policeman became ill on June 18 and was swabbed for an RT-PCR test the following day.His positive result came out on June 19.Two days later, on June 21, he had difficulty in breathing and was rushed to a hospital.On June 26, he succumbed to the virus.While the confirmed patient did not report for duty since he went ill, the other policemen at the station went on quarantine and were swabbed for COVID-19 tests, Donasco said.There have been 177 Negros Occidental policemen who have tested positive COVID-19 as ...

The Parish of San Isidro Labrador in Moises Padilla held a special thanksgiving mass that was attended by Mayor Ella Garcia-Yulo, her family, and the municipal government employees Wednesday, June 23, a day after the NAPOLCOM resolution came out dismissing six cops.*Moises Padilla LGU photoOne of the cops involved in the Moises Padilla checkpoint in 2017 already retired from the police service before the dismissal order of the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) came out.Former Moises Padilla police chief Captain Allan Reloj, along with five policemen, were found by the NAPOLCOM "culpable for grave misconduct and grave irregularities in the performance of duty" in relation to the arrest of then town vice mayor Ella Garcia-Yulo and her husband, Felix Yulo III, in the December 201...

The six policemen involved in the December 2017 checkpoint in Moises Padilla that resulted in the arrest of then town vice mayor Ella Garcia-Yulo and her husband, Felix Yulo III, for alleged possession of firearms, drugs, and explosives have been dismissed from service by the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM).The 13-page order, which was signed on Oct. 21, 2020 by Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, who is also the NAPOLCOM chairman, found Police Capt. Allan Reloj, town police chief at that time, MSgt Ricardo Dingcong Jr., Corporal Nobel Perante, Corporal Felix Pesales Jr., Patrolman Michael Mondido, and Patrolman Darryl Dormido "culpable for grave misconduct and grave irregularities in the performance of duty."The policemen were meted the maximum penalty of dismissal from service,...

Moises Padilla LGU photoMoises Padilla residents who will be inoculated with Covid-19 vaccines Monday, June 21, will get three kilos of rice from the municipal government, Mayor Ella Garcia-Yulo said Sunday, June 20.She said the three kilos of rice will be given to individuals and not families, “so if five members of the family will get their vaccine shots, they will receive a total of 15 kilos of rice,” she added.She said that this is their way of encouraging the residents to get their Covid-19 vaccine shots so they can reach the target 70 percent of the population.She admitted that it has been a challenge to conduct information dissemination to residents as eight of its 15 villages are mountain barangays.She said that the residents could not be gathered for a meeting ...

Calatrava PNP photoFour people were killed in separate shooting incidents in Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City, on Thursday, June 17.A husband killed his wife following a heated argument in their home at Barangay San Isidro, Calatrava.Killed was 28-year-old Sendy Ambasing, who was shot to death with an unknown firearm by her husband Alex Ambasing, 32, who fled from the scene after the incident.The victim sustained a lone gunshot wound to her head. She was brought to Calatrava District Hospital but was declared dead on arrival.Police are looking at jealousy as the motive of the incident.COUPLE DEADA teacher and her husband were was also gunned down in Barangay Molocaboc, Sagay City, by an unidentified suspect.Ermelito Desamparado, 46, fetched his wife...

EB Magalona LGU photoThe EB Magalona municipal government has implemented stringent measures to curb the recent surge of Covid-19 cases in the locality from June 15 to 30.Mayor Marvin Malacon, in Executive Order No. 40 signed June 15, said that Covid-19 cases in the town have jumped from 275 on April 8 to 475 on June 14.Due to this, he has directed the closure of commercial establishments every Sunday, except for drug stores and pharmacies, dental and medical clinics, gasoline stations, and water refilling stations.Establishments that will be closed every Sunday are:*Groceries, sari-sari stores, convenience stores, all public markets*Restaurants, cafes, refreshments, carinderia, bakeshop, and other food retail establishments*Hardware and construction supply*Laundry shops*Gy...

The Cebu provincial government is regulating the entry of individuals coming from Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Bohol as it strengthened its measures against the spread of Covid-19.Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, in Executive Order No. 22 issued on June 12 and will take effect at 12:01 am of June 14, said that persons coming from the three provinces who will enter Cebu through all of its ports of entry will be required to present a negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test result taken 72 hours before departure from the place of their origin or a negative rapid antigen test result taken at least 48 hours before departure.The Department of Health is charged with the responsibility of conducting a rapid antigen test in all ports of origin on all perso...

La Carlota PNP photoThe search is on for a 5-year-old girl who was swept away by strong current in a river at Barangay La Granja in La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, on Sunday, June 6.Lt. Col. Jonel Guadalupe, city police chief, said the girl, whose name was withheld, was left at the side of the river by her mother who went to fetch her 2-year-old son.When the mother returned with her other child, the girl had disappeared.The police said the girl may have slipped on a rock and got swept away by the strong river current.As of 6 p.m. Monday, June 7, the girl had not been found.*