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Sugarcane workers staged a protest outside the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Bacolod office on Thursday, August 27, demanding urgent reforms to the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) and  the abolition of the  pakyaw (piece-rate) system “as they battle the crisis in the sugar industry”.The protest was led by the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW), alongside the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and PAMALAKAYA.In a position paper submitted to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) secretary  the NFSW proposed SAP policy changes and reforms for consideration through the Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC).It asked for a minimum amelioration bonus of not less than ₱5,000 for field workers and migratory sugar workers, whose ...

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 — ...

"Don’t wait for your illness to get worse," Marjorie Cabrieto, PhilHealth Regional Vice President, said.*CPG photoThe Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) appealed to Negrenses on Thursday, August 27, to enroll in its expanded Yaman ng Kalusugan Program (YAKAP) amid a low  turnout in Negros Occidental.Enrolling in  YAKAP allows PhilHelth members to access free preventive care and essential medical services that would prevent costly hospitalizations, PhilHealth officials said at a press conference in Bacolod City.Janimhe Jalbuna, head of the PhilHealth-Western Visayas public affairs unit, reported that  only 293,506 members and dependents in the province had registered with YAKAP clinics as of July 31.This represents just 9.04 percent of Negros Occid...

Bacolod City Mayor Greg Gasataya, in coordination with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Office of the President, led the distribution of financial assistance checks to all 61 barangays at the Bacolod City  Government Center on Thursday, August 27, strictly enforcing a requirement that no student scholars are relatives of incumbent barangay officials.Under the "Bawat Barangay Makikinabang" program—funded through the Socio-Civic Projects Fund under the Local Government Support Fund—each barangay received ₱200,000. The allocation is split evenly: ₱100,000 to fund five Presidential Scholars (₱20,000 each) and ₱100,000 for a local community development project.To ensure conflict-of-interest safeguards, Gasataya mandated that all barangay captains s...

NUJP secretary-general Len Olea, Marchel  Espina, lawyer  Vincent Bohol, and NUJP-NCR chair Paul Soriano (L-r) at the Batangas Court.*Negrense Marchel Espina, a National Union of Journalists of the Philippines director, was arraigned Thursday, August 27, before the Batangas City Regional Trial Court in connection with the “unjust vexation” charge filed against her.Shortly before the scheduled arraignment, Espina’s camp filed a motion to quash the case. The court denied the motion, and the arraignment proceeded. The case will now move to pre-trial, with the first hearing set for September 24., NUJP reported.The charge was filed by a local leader of a religious group over an opinion piece published by SunStar Cebu in December 2024, when Espina was the paper’s editor-in-chief....

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...

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology-Negros Island Region and the Cadiz City government have signed a deed of donation for the planned new Cadiz City Jail facility.The signing was held at Cadiz City Hall on Tuesday, Aug. 25, as part of preparations for the development of a new jail facility aimed at improving custodial conditions and rehabilitation services for persons deprived of liberty, a press release from the BJMP-NIR said.The BJMP-NIR delegation was led by Regional Director JCSupt. Brendan Fulgencio, together with regional logistics chief JCInsp. Bryan Donasco and Cadiz City Jail acting warden JSInsp. Joseph Anthony Bayan.They met with Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. before formally signing the deed of donation.BJMP-NIR said officials also discussed the ...

Personnel from the City Legal Office (CLO) Enforcement Team and the Bacolod Traffic and Transportation Management Department (BTTMD) held a briefing on Thursday, August 27, to ensure the observance of maximum tolerance as the Bacolod City Government intensifies road-clearing operations.BTTMD Officer-in-Charge  Reuben Mikhail Sabig reiterated the directive of City Legal Officer Karol Joseph Chiu during the briefing following the circulation of a video online showing a member of the city enforcement team involved in a verbal altercation with a vendor at the Libertad Public Market.Sabig, who also supervises the CLO Enforcement Team, stressed that personnel must remain professional and respectful while performing their duties and must always operate within the bounds of their auth...

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...