Mary Judaline Partlow

Officials of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines and the Negros Oriental II Electric Cooperative attend a forum on Thursday to discuss preparations for the May 12 polls.*PNA/Mary Judaline Flores Partlow photoOfficials of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and the Negros Oriental II Electric Cooperative (NORECO II) assured on Thursday, April 10, stable and uninterrupted power supply during the May 12 midterm polls.Engineer Felix Vidaure of NGCP said at a Kapihan sa PIA forum that no manual load shedding is expected during the election period following the successful reconductoring of the 69-kilovolt (kV) transmission line in Amlan.The recent upgrades, which included four weekends of planned power outages, now allow the line to carry a larger lo...

Personnel of the Negros Oriental police in Camp Fernandez, Sibulan town, prepare to secure the upcoming Holy Week activities starting this weekend. *PNA/Mary Judaline Flores Partlow photoThe Negros Oriental police is preparing to fully deploy its personnel ahead of Holy Week, with heightened security measures starting Palm Sunday on April 13.Lt. Stephen Polinar, spokesperson of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NOPPO), said they are awaiting final orders for the implementation of Oplan Semana Santa from higher authorities.“We anticipate being placed under full alert status in the coming days, which would mean all personnel will be on duty unless there are exceptional circumstances,” Polinar said on Wednesday, April 9.Police officers will be stationed at high-...

Dr. Ramir Uytico (left), the newly appointed regional director of the Department of Education-Negros Island Region, during the turnover of a school building at the South City Elementary School in Dumaguete City.*PNA /Mary Judaline F. Partlow photoThe Department of Education in the Negros Island Region (DepEd-NIR) intends to replicate rural farm schools in Negros Oriental and Siquijor, an official said on Thursday, April 3.Dr. Ramir Uytico, newly-appointed DepEd-NIR regional director, announced this during the inauguration of a brand-new school building at the South City Elementary School in Barangay Mangnao, Dumaguete City.“We want to replicate the establishment of the farm schools because until now, and it is on record, that it is only Region 6 that has established the first 3...

The Silliman University Medical Center in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental is the only Level 3 hospital in Negros Oriental.*PNA/Mary Judaline Flores Partlow photoThe Silliman University Medical Center Foundation Inc. (SUMCFI) on Wednesday, April 2, assured the public that the suspension of the government’s Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) program is temporary.SUMCFI president Fredita Tan and officer-in-charge vice president for financial services Charmaine Concepcion said during a press conference that the MAIFIP has to be suspended effective April 1 to avoid compromising the hospital’s operations amid the Department of Health's (DOH) outstanding debt.“We have already written and talked to the DOH Region 7 (Central Visayas) who assur...

A joint police-military team examines vehicles at a checkpoint in Negros Oriental.*NOPPO photoSecurity forces in Negros Oriental have significantly bolstered election-related checkpoints as the local campaign period intensifies ahead of the May 12 midterm polls, police officials said Tuesday, April 1.The Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NOPPO) has expanded its daily checkpoint operations from an initial nine to a comprehensive network covering all major thoroughfares.Lt. Stephen Polinar, NOPPO spokesperson, attributed this escalation to both the creation of the new Negros Island Region Police Regional Office and the heightened mobility of candidates crisscrossing municipal boundaries.The 24-hour checkpoint system operates in three shifts, combining joint Comelec-PN...

Edsil Jess Adalid and his wife, Alexis, from Bais City are among the Filipinos reported missing following the magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Myanmar on Friday.* photo courtesy of Adalid familyThe local government of Bais City in Negros Oriental is assisting the families of two overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are still missing in Myanmar following the magnitude 7.7 earthquake on March 28.Mayor Luigi Marcel Goñi said Monday, March 31, that his office has written the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Central Visayas to endorse a request for family members to travel to Myanmar.“The families were here this morning and we are doing our best to arrange with the national government through the OCD the possible travel to Myanmar. We also have to follow their protocols considering that ...

The Commission on Elections in the Negros Island Region (Comelec-NIR) is ready for the delivery of thousands of automated counting machines (ACMs) that would be used in the May 12 midterm elections.Comelec-NIR assistant regional director Jossil Macute said on Monday, March 31, that the hubs where the ACMs will be stored upon arrival next month have already been identified.“The official cargo forwarder of the ACMs is closely coordinating with the Comelec and we have identified the hubs where these units are to be stored until they are delivered to the different local government units in the NIR,” Macute said.The ACMs, to be shipped via a commercial vessel, are expected to arrive on April 17. They will be stored at the holding areas until delivery to the LGUs a few days before th...

Torsten Martin Groschupp (seated, left) and Alexander Radvanyl (5th from left) share their experience getting lost on the trail of Mount Talinis in Valencia, Negros Oriental after they were rescued Friday, March 21,*PNA/Judy Partlow) photoThe Valencia local government in Negros Oriental is tightening its enforcement of an ordinance regulating activities in Mount Talinis following the rescue of six foreigners who went missing on their way to the complex volcano, officials said Monday, March 24.Desiderio Tilos Jr., Valencia municipal tourism officer, said that Ordinance No. 4 series of 2020 (An Ordinance Enacting the Tourism, Heritage, Culture and Arts Code of the Municipality of Valencia includes) regulates activities in Mount Talinis.Article 8 of the ordinance provides for the ...

The Commission on Elections in the Negros Island Region (Comelec-NIR) on Monday, March 24, asked local officials running in the May 12 polls to remove or cover their photos and names on government vehicles during the campaign period.Comelec-NIR Assistant Regional Director Jossil Macute said it is only for the duration of the campaign period for local candidates, which starts March 28 and ends May 10."Ideally, we recommend to local officials whose photos and names are plastered on ambulances, dump trucks, and other vehicles owned by the local government units (LGUs) to temporarily remove or cover these to avoid being accused of utilizing government resources for their campaign," Macute said."Of course, there will be exceptions, such as with ambulances when they are needed during...

The 11th Infantry Battalion soldiers and civilian rescuers with the four foreign hikers rescued in Barangay Silab, Amlan, Negros Oriental, on Saturday.* 11th IB photoThe four remaining foreign trekkers who went missing in Negros Oriental, were rescued in Sitio Hydro, Brgy. Silab, Amlan, Negros Oriental, at about 9:44 a.m. Saturday, March 22.The four and two others who were rescued Friday, who are German, British, Russian and Canadian nationals, set off on a trek from Barangay Malabo, Valencia, on Wednesday, March 19, and were hit by heavy rain.When they failed to return from what was supposed to be a one-day trek they were reported missing.Rescued on Saturday were Germans Alwin Fink, 60, and Wolfgang Arthur Schlenker, 67, Russian Anton Chernov, 38, and Canadian Terry de Gunten, 50....