Negros Oriental

The La Castellana ECT payout.*DSWD photoThe Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) program releases have reach  reached ₱236,616,525 benefiting 23,009 sugarcane farmers in the Negros Island Region (NIR) as of Wednesday, August 26,  DSWD Regional Director Arwin Razo said Thursday.The relief effort provides direct social protection to smallholder farmers whose livelihoods and crops were severely impacted by the Red-Striped Soft Scale Insect (RSSI) infestation in the region.Negros Occidental accounted for the vast majority of beneficiaries, with 18,252 farmers receiving a total of ₱188,451,900 in 13 municipalities and cities.The 13 areas are:Himamaylan City: 3,549 beneficiaries — ₱36,643,425Murcia: 2,322 beneficiaries — ...

Thirty wanted persons were arrested while more than P532,000 worth of suspected shabu and 24 firearms were accounted for in a series of police operations in Negros Oriental from Aug. 18 to 24.The Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office said the 30 arrested wanted persons included three most wanted persons at the regional level, two at the provincial level and two at the city or municipal level.Another 23 were classified as other wanted persons.In its anti-illegal drug campaign, NOrPPO conducted 21 operations that resulted in the arrest of 20 individuals classified as street-level drug suspects.Police recovered about 78.3 grams of suspected shabu with an estimated value of P532,500.No high-value drug individual was arrested during the period.Meanwhile, 15 operations...

Three persons were arrested after they were allegedly caught fishing inside a marine sanctuary within the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape off Vallehermoso, Negros Oriental.The Negros Occidental Maritime Police Station-San Carlos said the suspects were apprehended during a joint seaborne patrol off Brgy. Poblacion.The operation was conducted with personnel of the Negros Oriental Maritime Police Station, Special Operations Team of the Regional Maritime Unit-Negros Island Region, and Vallehermoso Municipal Police Station.Authorities said the three were found actively fishing within the protected area.They were arrested for alleged violation of Section 101 of Republic Act 10654, which prohibits fishing in marine protected areas, fishery reserves, refuges and sanctuaries.Pol...

DA-PhilRice Negros photoThe Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) has distributed 670,275 sacks of Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) certified seeds for this year’s wet season to farmers across the Visayas.“The RCEF seed distribution in Western Visayas, Central Visayas, and the Negros Island Region for the 2026 wet season has officially wrapped up,” the DA-PhilRice Negros Station, based in Murcia, Negros Occidental, said in a Facebook post on Wednesday, August 26.The 2026 wet season covers March to September.Based on the Aug. 16 data from the rice seed monitoring system, the total distributed sacks of 20-kg. certified rice seeds were received by 248,415 qualified rice farmers in 219 municipalities and cities in the three reg...

PDEA-NIR Assistant Regional Director Marjorie Ballesteros (seated, 2nd from left) leads the regional oversight committee deliberation on drug-cleared barangays in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental on Wednesday* Photo courtesy of Yett CalulotThe Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has declared 11 barangays across the Negros Island Region (NIR) "drug-cleared," an official said Wednesday, August 26.The declaration was made during the 13th deliberation of the Regional Oversight Committee on Barangay Clearing held in Dumaguete City, attended by representatives of law enforcement agencies, local government units (LGUs), and civilian sector partners.PDEA-NIR Assistant Regional Director Marjorie Ballesteros identified the newly cleared barangays as Magsaysay and Nagsaha in Guihulng...

A 24-year-old man classified by police as a high-value drug suspect was arrested after authorities seized about P692,920 worth of suspected shabu during the implementation of a search warrant in Bacong, Negros Oriental, on Tuesday, Aug. 25.The Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region identified the suspect only as alias “JC,” a resident of Purok 4, Brgy. San Miguel.Personnel of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office’s Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit and Provincial Intelligence Unit, in coordination with Bacong police, conducted the operation at around 5:11 a.m.Police said the operation stemmed from information that the suspect was allegedly selling illegal drugs from his residence.Authorities conducted casing, surveillance and test-buy operations before securing a...

The Commission on Higher Education – Negros Island Region (CHED-NIR) has  approved the applications of 22 higher education institutions (HEIs) across the region to increase their tuition and other school fees (TOSF) for Academic Year 2026–2027.The approvals were granted pursuant to CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 03, series of 2012, as amended by CMO No. 08, series of 2012. The decisions were formally sanctioned by the Commission En Banc (CEB) and implemented through MOED No. 1151, series of 2026, CHED-NIR announced on its Facebook page Tuesday, August 22.The 22 private colleges and universities authorized to implement fee increases for the upcoming academic year are:In Bacolod City and Negros Occidental -  La Consolacion College Bacolod, Riverside College Inc., Unive...

The ECT disbursement in Murcia*DSWD NIR photoThe Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has released more than P199 million worth of financial assistance to smallholder farmers in 17 local government units (LGUs) in Negros Island, whose sugarcane crops were ravaged by red-striped soft scale insects, as of Sunday, August 23.The Emergency Cash Transfer has been released to 19,373 NIR beneficiaries, with more still to be distributed, DSWD Negros Island Region  Director Arwin Razo said Monday.The aid will also cover laborers, he said, but they are also still waiting for the lists from the LGUs.Negros Occidental received the largest share of financial assistance, with ₱151,199,300.00 distributed among 14,644 sugarcane farmers.The 11 Negros Occidental LGUs cover...

Kanlaon Volcano ash emission at 5:51 a.m Monday,*Screengrab from PhivolcsFace-to-face classes at all levels in both public and private schools in Canlaon City, Negros Oriental, were suspended at noon Monday, August 24, due to ashfall and continued activity from Kanlaon Volcano.City Mayor Jose Chubasco B. Cardenas issued Executive Order No. 80, Series of 2026, ordering the suspension until further notice to safeguard students, teachers, and school personnel from respiratory hazards and road safety risks caused by volcanic ash.The order applies to all public and private schools in Canlaon City. It covers all face-to-face classes and school activities requiring physical attendance.Kanlaon Volcano at 5:51 a.m. Monday  generated a grayish plume that rose 200 meters above th...

A man died after his motorcycle hit the rear of a parked tractor head along the national highway in Purok Yee-on, Brgy. Cabahug at around 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22.*PNP photoTwo motorcycle riders died in separate road incidents in Cadiz and Kabankalan cities in Negros Occidental from Friday to Saturday, Aug. 21 to 22.In Cadiz City, a 39-year-old motorcycle driver identified only as alias “Abel” died after his motorcycle hit the rear of a parked tractor head along the national highway in Purok Yee-on, Brgy. Cabahug at around 6:30 p.m. Saturday.Abel was driving a Honda Click 125 with two back riders, alias “Ronnie,” 36, and Pedmon Arellano, when the collision happened.A witness told police that the motorcycle was traveling at high speed when it struck the rear of a Fuso tra...