Marchel P. Espina

Omar Montejo, Dr. Evangeline Johnson, Col. Romy Palgue and Capt. Lucho Giovanni Giron (l-r) during the signing of the MOU at Camp Alfredo Montelibano Sr. in Bacolod City today, February 1.*BQMH photoThe Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) director signed a memorandum of understanding with the executives of Bacolod Queen of Mercy Hospital (BQMH) to provide health service even without deposit, at rites at Camp Alfredo Montelibano Sr. in Bacolod City, today, February 1.Signing for NOCPPO was Col. Romy Palgue, its director, while Dr. Evangeline Johnson, chairman of BQMH, Omar Montejo, chief operating officer and administrator, and Capt. Lucho Giovanni Giron, chief executive officer and president, represented the hospital.Under the agreement, active members of NOCPPO...

Moises Padilla PNP photoLuck ran out for a murder suspect, who escaped from the Moises Padilla Police Station, after he was finally caught by authorities after more than three months of manhunt operations.Reco Layan, 23, was tracked down at upland Barangay Quintin Remo, Moises Padilla, which is more than 30 kilometers from the town police station, on January 29.During the arrest, the suspect yielded an MK2 hand fragmentation grenade, the police report showed.Layan, who was arrested for murder in July last year, escaped from the detention cell of the police station on Oct. 14, 2020, after complaining that he was feeling ill.Layan is now in the custody of the Moises Padilla police.*

Officials of PrimeWater and BACIWA during the groundbreaking of the new water source development project at East Homes 6 in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod City last December.*PrimeWater photoPrimeWater Infrastructure Corp. is looking to augment the water supply of Bacolod City following its joint venture agreement with the Bacolod City Water District (BACIWA).Michael Soliva, BACIWA acting general manager, said the new water source development project at East Homes 6 in Barangay Mansilingan is expected to improve the water supply in the area and neighboring villages. Its groundbreaking was held in December.With the new water source, water supply along the Handumanan-Felisa wells could be diverted to other areas, he added.He said that drilling work for the project is expected ...

The Sangguniang Bayan of Isabela in Negros Occidental is expected to pass the town’s 2021 annual budget in February, a councilor said today, January 29.Councilor Francis Malabor, SB committee on finance chair , said that he expects the budget hearings to be completed by early next month.Mayor Irene Montilla submitted the proposed P216 million budget in October last year, but they were only able to hold one hearing in November, he said.This was because barangays, where some committee members live, were placed under lockdown while the municipal hall was also temporarily closed following positive coronavirus cases, he said.Malabor, who was a former town mayor, said they resumed their budget hearings this January after sending three letters to the mayor’s office requesting the ...

BCPO photoA 32-year-old woman was arrested in a drug bust operation by police operatives at Purok Kagaykay in Barangay 2, Bacolod City, Thursday afternoon, January 28.Nabbed was Baby Girl Villarna, alias “Baby,” and seized from her were P200 marked money, seven sachets of suspected shabu worth P10,000, and drug paraphernalia, a police report said.The suspect is now detained at Police Station 2 and will face drug charges, the report added.*

Isabela Mayor Irene Montilla expressed her frustration today, January 28, as members of the Sangguniang Bayan (SB) have yet to act on the proposed P216 million annual budget of their town for 2021.The mayor said the proposed budget was submitted to the SB in October last year, but members of the council only started holding their marathon hearings just this January.She said that the municipal government is now operating on a reenacted budget, but the 2021 proposed allocation is coronavirus responsive.The municipal government cannot implement new projects and programs under the reenacted budget considering that the proposals have to be included in the 2020 Annual Investment Plan, she said.With the non-action of the SB members on the annual budget, the council cannot tackle o...

Negros Press Club presidential aspirant Rey Siason is seeking to nullify the NPC election results due to alleged vote-buying by his opponent.Siason of Muews Radio lost to Yves Montecillo of RMN-Bacolod in the presidential race.Most of Montecillo’s “New Normal” slate also won the election, which was held at the NPC building in Bacolod City on January 23.Siason, who is a former club president, in a letter-complaint to the NPC Commission on Elections dated January 26, claimed that information circulating among the members and in the social media claimed that his opponent paid the members P1,000 to vote for their slate.“I was approached by several members just before the election who asked how much I was willing to give them as the other camp gave them P1,000,” he claimed.“...