Mark L. Garcia

Keana Marie Bartolome and Venus Nicole Jucal (l-r)*For Keana Marie Bartolome and Venus Nicole Jucal, both 23 and education graduates from the University of Saint La Salle-Bacolod, their friendship has lifted them to where they are now — as secondary teacher board topnotchers.When the Professional Regulation Commission released the results of the 2023 Licensure Exam for Teachers (LET) Friday afternoon, May 19, Bartolome was in fourth place and Jucal was in ninth place.In an interview Saturday, both of them said that they were still overwhelmed with the results, adding that it was the work of God that after all the hard work they passed and were among the Top 10.Bartolome works as a teacher at St. John’s Institute- Northpoint Campus and Jucal is an online English as Second La...

A retired Army man allegedly shot his drinking companion to death after a heated argument in Purok Little Mindanao, Hda. Salvacion, Brgy. Ayungon, La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, Sunday night, the police said.The suspect, Edgardo Molines, 62, from Brgy. Ayungon allegedly shot Hernani Aginda, 44, from Brgy. Batuan in La Carlota City.The victim and the suspect were having a drinking session inside the house of the suspect when a heated argument ensued between them.The suspect allegedly shot the victim on his forehead which caused his instantaneous death, the police said.The suspect immediately fled while the victim was rushed to the Don Salvador Benedicto District Hospital where he was declared dead.The suspect later voluntarily surrendered to La Carlota Police Statio...

Rice stocks at one of the NFA warehouses in Bacolod City.*NFA photoAs the province braces for the El Niño phenomena, National Food Authority- Negros Occidental manager Glenda Paz assured that there is enough rice buffer stock in place for the province.Currently there is a buffer of 30,000 bags of rice for the province for calamities and emergencies, Paz said on Friday, May 19.She said that if in buffer stock will not be enough, the province can get more rice from the NFA depots in Iloilo.Earlier this month, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) stated that recent conditions and model forecasts indicate that El Niño may emerge in the coming season (June-July-August) at 80 percent probability and may persist until the first ...

A P16 increase in the average retail price of red onions was observed in Negros Occidental in the first half of May, records from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed Wednesday, May 17.Data released by the PSA showed that the price per kilo of red onions increased by P16, from an average price of P110.67 in the second half of April to P126.67/kilo in the first half of May.A slight increase was also seen in the average prices of beef with bones with a P5 difference from P366.50 to P371.50/kilo, cabbage by P3.80 from P97.52 to P101.32/kilo, carrots by P1.83 from P86.50 to P88.33/kilo, eggplant by P3.82 from P103.34 to P107.16/kilo, native pechay by P3 from P100.84 to P103.84/kilo, pork with bones by P1 from P296.50 to P297.50/kilo, and a P0.20/kilo increase per kilo for r...

A septuagenarian woman was found dead inside her house in Binalbagan town, Negros Occidental, the police said Friday, May 19.Estrella Flores, 75, from Sitio Ubay, Brgy. Progreso in Binalbagan, was found dead on her sofa bed Thursday night.Her body had no physical wounds or signs of struggle, the police said.PMaj. Randy Babor, Binalbagan police chief, said the victim was found alone inside the house and might have been dead for almost a day.The cadaver was already decomposing, Dr. Hazel Pagunsan of the Binalbagan Rural Health Office reported.The victim was bedridden for almost three months having arthritis and was taking medications for a long time, the police said.*

Two police officers were injured after the subject of their buy-bust operation shot them before fleeing in Brgy. Magallon Cadre, Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, Wednesday night, May 17.The PMaj. Joevito Bose, who led the town’s Drug Enforcement Team, and PLt. Armel Lasap were allegedly shot by Jeffrey Cabato, who was the subject of their buy-bust operation in Sitio Sapa, Barangay Magallon Cadre, the police reported.The suspect allegedly evaded arrest by shooting the two policemen using an unknown firearm.The victims were immediately brought to the Municipal Infirmary and later transferred to the Queen of Mercy Hospital in Bacolod City.The police recovered suspected shabu with an estimated street value of P34,000 from the suspect.The buy-bust operation was witnessed b...

Negrenses are urged to apply for various technical-vocational courses at the Negros Occidental Language and Information Technology Center as the Negros Occidental provincial government has allocated P19 million worth of scholarships this year, NOLITC Administrator Cristina Orbecido said Wednesday, May 17.Orbecido told DIGICAST NEGROS that tech-voc scholarships are still available at NOLITC as they are targeting 770 Negrenses to avail of these programs.This budget is a big leap from the previous P400,000 allocation to NOLITC during the pandemic, she said.During the onslaught of COVID-19, NOLITC only offered online sessions and seminars as tech-voc students lacked needed equipment, Orbecido said.She said that the P19 million budget for 2023 came from the Gender and Developmen...

Two persons were found dead in Calatrava and Cauayan, Negros Occidental, the police reported Wednesday, May 17.A dead man was found in Brgy. Minapasok, Calatrava town, Tuesday morning, two days after he went missing.The body of Jose Arioso, 59, of Brgy. Minapasok was found in an open field about five kilometers away from his residence.PCapt. Jess Alba, Calatrava deputy police chief, said that according to residents before the victim went missing he went to a fiesta on Sunday.Barangay officials found his body Tuesday morning and immediately contacted the police and the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office.The police conducted an ocular investigation and found that no foul play led to the death of the victim.Meanwhile, in Cauayan town, a 28-year-old mar...

The creation of a Police and Private Security Council is in the works after representatives from the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) met Wednesday, May 17, to strengthen security and peace and order in the city.The meeting, led by MBCCI chief executive officer Frank Carbon and Bacolod Acting Police Director, Col. Noel Aliño, at Park Inn Hotel in Bacolod City tackled security matters in terms of doing business in the city.Carbon told DIGICAST NEGROS that this is the first time that the business sector met with the new police chief and they hope to create more projects to foster their alliance.Among the discussions was the creation of the Police and Private Security Council to address the problem of the big gap in the ratio...