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A 62-year-old woman bound for Bacolod City was arrested with P13.7 million worth of shabu concealed inside a box at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 on Wednesday, May 28, the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group (PNP-AVSEGROUP) reported.The PNP-AVSEGROUP and members of NAIA-Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group discovered the suspected shabu in a "Bonakid Carton Box" packed inside a pink bag during x-ray screening. Upon inspection, authorities uncovered multiple plastic sachets containing a white crystalline substance, the PNP-AVSEGROUP reported on its Facebook page. A K9 paneling and field testing by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency confirmed the substance to be methamphetamine hydrochloride, commonly known as shabu, estimated at 2,02...

Former Negros Oriental representative Arnolfo Teves Jr. being  arrested by the Timor-Leste immigration police on Tuesday.*Video grab from Axel Teves’ Facebook post         Former Negros Oriental representative Arnolfo "Arnie" Teves Jr.  who was arrested at his home in  Timor-Leste on Tuesday will be deported, the Timorese government said on Wednesday, May 28.          Teves “will be deported from Timor-Leste by administrative decision of the Ministry of the Interior, as he is in the country without a valid visa, lacking legal authorization to remain, and holding a passport that the Government of the Philippines has cancelled,”  the Timor-Leste government announced in a statement....

Two Siquijor residents hit with glanders disease have died, Dr. Nikka Hao, regional director of the Department of Health-Negros Island Region, confirmed Wednesday, May 28.She said the two males who died were among the six patients from Siquijor with confirmed glanders disease who were brought to a hospital in Dumaguete City.The two male fatalities had comorbidities, which were combination of hypertension and diabetes, she said.“What is important for glanders is early detection and treatment. Now that people are more aware of it treatment can be started faster,” she said.Hao said they are conducting contact tracing for others who may have been hit by glanders disease in Siquijor.They only have six laboratory confirmed glanders cases from Siquijor, but contract tracing ha...

Iloilo City has recorded its first confirmed case of monkeypox (Mpox), but no cases have been detected in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City.Dr. Mary Ann Diaz, Iloilo City Health Officer, said that as of Tuesday, May 27, one Mpox case has been laboratory-confirmed, while four additional suspected cases are being closely monitored by the Iloilo City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit.The identified individuals are currently in isolation and receiving medical care, with all patients reported to be in stable condition, she said.In Negros Occidental and Bacolod City there are no recorded Mpox cases, Adrian Hort Ramos, the head of the Provincial and City Department of Heath office, said.The public is advised to follow precautionary measures against Mpox, he said.Mpox sprea...

A 23-year-old man died while his companion survived after they were allegedly abducted and shot at in Sitio Km. 113, Brgy. Dancalan, Ilog, Negros Occidental, Wednesday afternoon, May 27.Alias “Kirt”, 23, of Hacienda Manaol, Brgy. Matab-ang, Talisay City, died while his companion, alias “Niko”, 24, of Brgy. Villamonte, Bacolod City, survived.The friends were in Kabankalan City to play billiards, however, they were abducted by the suspects who forced them to ride a white van.Niko told the police that their hands were cable tied and they were driven to Brgy. Dancalan where they were dragged out of the vehicle.He said the suspects shot Kirt in the head while he was allowed to run while the suspects were shooting at him until he asked for help from the residents nearby.Ilog ...

About P823,500 worth of marijuana was surrendered to Bacolod City Drug Enforcement Unit and La Carlota City Police Intelligence Unit operatives on Tuesday, May 27.CDEU head Lt. Col. Antonio Benitez Jr. said that this voluntary surrender was an offshoot of the buy-bust operation conducted in Bacolod on Monday.Alias “Nene” surrendered to the authorities six kilos of dried marijuana and liquid marijuana, he said.The police said that this is the first time that they have recovered liquid marijuana, which is considered a dangerous drug based on the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency briefing.Liquid marijuana is a ready-to-use drug, which is usually bought at about P4,500 to P5,000 a container, Benitez said.They are still determining who are the customers of this kind of dang...

NOCPPO photoAuthorities are keeping a close watch on 10 entry points into Kanlaon Volcano’s 6-kilometer extended danger zone where all human activity has been prohibited amid the threat of another eruption, Regional Task Force Kanlaon head Raul Fernandez said Wednesday, May 28.The Office of the Civil Defense has temporarily suspended the 10-hour daily window that allowed evacuees to return to carry out farming and other livelihood activities in the 6-kilometer extended danger zone until further notice.Residents who had been evacuated out of the danger zone had been allowed to return during the day from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. to tend to their farms and animals.The suspension will be until the situation at Kanlaon Volcano where numerous volcanic earthquakes have been recorded latel...

The police arrested a Victorias resident and seized smuggled cigarettes worth P2.8 million in Brgy. Pasil, E.B. Magalona, Negros Occidental, on Tuesday, May 27.Arrested was alias “Aka Marciano”, 67, of Daan Banwa, Brgy. 9, Victorias City, while his alleged accomplice, alias “John Mark”, 32, is at-large, the police said.Recovered during the operation were 140 boxes of Brave cigarettes, believed to have been smuggled and sold without the proper tax stamps.The operation was conducted in line with the enforcement of Section 263 of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1997, as amended, which prohibits the unlawful possession or removal of articles subject to excise tax without the payment of the required tax.The confiscated items were turned over to the Bureau of Interna...

A signature campaign for the nullification of the joint venture agreement (JVA) between the Bacolod City Water District and PrimeWater was launched Wednesday, May 28.The people's petition calls on the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Bacolod City to nullify the JVA on the grounds that it is allegedly detrimental to the public interest, violates relevant laws and regulations, and fails to prioritize the people's right to access safe and affordable water servicesThe petition calls on the SP to conduct thorough public hearings and consultations to ensure that any future agreements prioritize the public interest.It also urges the SP to protect public control over water services and ensure that any agreements benefit the people of Bacolod City.The launching of the signature campaign w...

Gov . Eugenio Jose Lacson with the five Negrense scholars at their graduation.*Five scholars from Negros Occidental graduated from the Commercial Cookery Course, a globally recognized competency program offered by the International College of Advanced Education (ICAE) in Darwin, Australia, on Wednesday, May 28.The five Negrense scholars - Renina Mondrianne C. Alaban of Manapla, Janica Ross P. Besana of Victorias City, Jason B. Mamar of Murcia, Mark A. Moreno of Talisay City, and Coleen Keith B. Villanueva of La Carlota City - successfully completed the internationally recognized Commercial Cookery program, equipping them with culinary skills at par with global standards, a press release from the Negros Occidental provincial government said.Moreno was selected to deliver the gra...