Marchel P. Espina

Outstanding teachers in Negros Occidental were recognized during the Department of Education’s Seal of Excellence awards.Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and DepEd-Western Visayas director Gemma Ledesma led the rites today, December 28.In his speech, Lacson said that the most part of 2020 was overwhelming, and at some point, vicious and consuming.“It tested mankind in ways that were never known before. However, if there is any comforting prospect brought about by this crisis, is the fact that it was able to show the kind of fortitude humanity is capable of,” he said.He recalled that in April this year, face to face classes were suspended in the country, and that the educational system was thrust into an unknown and complex situation. “The old challenges were further aggravated ...

BCPO photoA curfew violator was arrested at Purok Progreso, Barangay 32 in Bacolod City early today, December 28.Nabbed was 43-year-old Kenneth Reyes of Rojas-Arellano Street in Barangay 40.During his arrest at about 3 a.m., policemen also recovered four sachets of suspected shabu from his possession.The recovered items were endorsed to the Crime Laboratory for examination, while the suspect was brought to Police Station 1.*

Photos from San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza FacebookSan Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza was ecstatic after the Catholic faithful from his diocese responded to his call to wear white during the mass on Christmas eve, December 24, and Christmas day, December 25, to amplify their call to end the killings.“We wear white as an act of solidarity and to express our desire for and commitment to peace, the sanctity of life, human dignity and human rights, and our collective call to end the killings, COVID pandemic and abuse of our common home,” he said.He thanked the faithful for their “clear support for our campaign to uphold the sanctity of life, human dignity and human rights.”“Thank you for your collective expression of solidarity with the victims and their grieving families, ...

Photo from Justice for Prince Hit-and-Run Awareness Campaign Facebook pageThe family of hit-and-run victim Prince Joaquin Relatos is crying for justice as the suspect remains in hiding days after the fatal incident.Relatos, who graduated with a civil engineering degree from the University of Negros Occidental–Recoletos this year, died on the night of December 22 at Bangga Mt. Carmel, Circumferential Road in Barangay Alijis, Bacolod City, after the tricycle he was riding on was hit by an unidentified vehicle, whose driver fled from the scene.The impact of the accident caused the tricycle to swerve to the opposite lane where it was hit by an oncoming truck.Relatos died on the spot while the tricycle driver was brought to the hospital after he sustained injuries.Five days ...

Negros Oriental has eased restrictions on tourism-related activities to revive its local economy.Governor Roel Degamo, in an executive order dated December 18, said that Negros Oriental was one of the provinces in Central Visayas that was hardly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused economic disruptions, loss of livelihood, income, and employment in the province.The EO stressed that only those identified tourism activities in conjunction with the Department of Tourism (DOT)-mandated guidelines will be permitted under the new normal.The permitted tourism activities in the province include diving, snorkeling, resort pool swimming, dolphin watching, beach activities, boating, kayaking, river cruising, stand-up paddleboarding, caving, canyoneering, birdwatching, waterfall sigh...

Police Station 7 photoTwo people, including a fresh graduate, died in separate vehicular accidents in Bacolod City.The first incident happened Tuesday night, December 22, at Bangga Mt. Carmel, Circumferential Road in Barangay Alijis.Killed was Prince Joaqin Relatos, 22, of the barangay.Relatos graduated with a civil engineering degree from the University of Negros Occidental – Recoletos in Bacolod City this year.The victim was on board a tricycle driven by 28-year-old Welmar De Asis when they were hit by an unidentified vehicle behind them, a police report said.The vehicle then sped away.The impact of the accident caused the tricycle to swerve to the opposite lane where it was hit by an oncoming truck.Relatos died on the spot while the tricycle driver was br...

Moises Padilla LGU photosMoises Padilla Mayor Ella Garcia-Yulo returned to the village where she survived an ambush that left her brother and nephew dead, to bring help to her constituents today, December 23.She said this was the first time she set foot in Barangay Inolingan after the fatal incident on April 25, 2019, where she survived an attempt on her life just three weeks before the May 13 polls but lost two of her closest loved ones during the ambush of her campaign convoy at the upland village.The mayor said she went there so the people would feel that their municipal government is there. “Para ma feel sang mga tawo na ara man ko diapon (so the people would feel that I’m still around), despite what happened there,” she added.She said that the residents there have noth...

San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza said that the recent case of police brutality which enraged the people nationwide is a “symptom of gross impunity, now worn like an honor badge among some oppressive members of our police force.”He pointed out there are still many cases not caught by video cameras, and that there are thousands of more families still crying for justice for their murdered parents, sons, and daughters.On December 20, Senior Master Sergeant Jonel Nuezca, who was assigned at the Parañaque City Police Crime Laboratory, was caught on video killing his two neighbors, Sonya Gregorio and her son, Frank Anthony Gregorio, in Paniqui, Tarlac following a noise complaint that quickly escalated to a heated argument.The two victims were unarmed when they were shot by the polic...