Marchel P. Espina

The damage to crops and livestock in Negros Occidental due to floods late last week have reached P49.089 million.The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) reported today, January 13, that the agricultural sector incurred P28.487 million damage, while the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) said that livestock suffered P5.143 million in losses during the flooding from January 8 to 11.Damage to the rice sector was P15.282 million in the cities of Sagay, Cadiz, Talisay and Silay, and towns of Manapla and Valladolid; high-value crops in Escalante, Talisay and Silay at P6.639 million; fisheries in Talisay, Sagay, Cadiz, San Carlos, and EB Magalona at P5.447 million, and corn in Sagay at P1.117 million.In a separate report, Victorias City said it incurred P15.459 damage to crop...

BCPO photoA man who was having dinner inside his room was shot to death by unidentified suspects at Regent Pearl Homes Subdivision in Barangay Alijis in Bacolod City tonight, January 12.Killed was 59-year-old Joeffrey Parandas.Three unidentified assailants entered his house, and two of them went to his room to shoot him in the head, an initial police report said.The victim died on the spot, while the suspects fled from the scene.The police have yet to establish the motive of the killing.*

Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo said the killing of Sta. Catalina Councilor Rhode Anthony Melodia was a “work of the devil.”The governor, in a video released by the Negros Oriental provincial government today, January 12, said he strongly condemns the incident.On January 10, Melodia, 29, was washing his vehicle when three unidentified persons, onboard on two motorcycles, appeared and shot him two times.He was brought to a hospital where he died.Degamo said he already directed the provincial police to investigate the killing of the councilor.The governor said the slain official was a good man and that he deserves to be given justice.He said the killing was the work of the devil, and “it’s really frustrating.”He said the police are intensifying the investigat...

Local labor group General Alliance of Workers Association (GAWA) has expressed its strong opposition to the move to amend the Constitution.Wennie Sancho, GAWA secretary-general, said: “if there is any change to be made in our Constitution, whether an amendment or revision, it should be done with the active participation of the people, for sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.”GAWA strongly opposes charter change now because of its untimeliness amid the pandemic, massive unemployment, and economic crisis that should be given primordial consideration by the government and the political leaders rather than tinkering with the Constitution that would open the floodgates for amendments that will have serious and adverse political consequences ...

Negros Environmental Watch photoCalls to stop the road construction project traversing the protected area of the Northern Negros Natural Park (NNNP) have intensified in the wake of the flashfloods that ravaged several areas in northern Negros Occidental late last week, leaving two people dead and affecting more than 90,000 individuals.The petition at bataris.org.ph, which was launched three months ago by Negros Environmental Watch, called on President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Public Works and Highways, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Lacson, and the Protected Area Management Board, to stop the Silay-Cadiz-Calatrava road construction.But the recent development has furthered amplified the call.The flash floods trig...

A councilor of Sta. Catalina town in Negros Oriental was shot to death by motorcycle-riding suspects today, January 10.The fatality was identified as Councilor Rhode Anthony Melodia, 29, of Barangay Poblacion.Based on the initial police investigation, the victim was washing his vehicle when three unidentified persons, onboard on two motorcycles, appeared and shot him two times.The suspects then fled, while the official was brought to Bayawan District Hospital where he expired.Recovered from the scene were four empty shells of .45 caliber pistol.Police are still investigating the incident and have yet to establish the motive of the killing.*

The Sangguniang Panlungsod has “no jurisdiction” over the case of the 60 terminated employees of the Bacolod City Water District (BACIWA), Councilor Ana Marie Palermo said during the SP regular session today, January 8.Councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr., in a privilege speech during the session, stressed that the employees were “unjustly and illegally dismissed and terminated,” and that “their rights and tenure must be protected against an unjust, inhuman, and illegal order of the Board of Directors of BACIWA.”The positions of the 60 workers were declared redundant by the Board of Directors following the joint venture agreement (JVA) between BACIWA and PrimeWater owned by the Villar family.PrimeWater took over the operations of BACIWA on November 16.The affected employees were sep...

Forty-nine barangays in Bacolod City have stayed coronavirus-free for two weeks.These are Barangays 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, Alangilan, Alijis, Cabug, Felisa, Granada, Handumanan, Punta Taytay, Singcang-Airport, Sum-ag, and Villamonte.City Administrator Em Ang, also executive director of the Emergency Operations Center, said the city’s “no home quarantine” policy, aggressive testing and contact tracing efforts were among the factors that broughr down of the COVID cases in these barangays that have been virus-free from December 25, 2020, to January 7.“Our strict enforcement of the ‘no home quarantine’ policy, or immediate extraction of patients who test posit...