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 Election prohibitions for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) will take effect Friday, Sept. 18, despite pending legislation to postpone the polls, according Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Negros Island Region Director Lionel Marco Castillano said Thursday.The prohibitions include a nationwide ban on releasing public works and social services funds, except those authorized by the COMELEC, and  on appointing, hiring, promoting, or granting salary increases and privileges to public employees.Although both the Senate and the House of Representatives have approved measures to postpone the BSKE to November 2028, Castillano clarified that preparations will proceed until a law is officially enacted.Because the Senate adopted the House version of the me...

Pixabay file photoThe Provincial Health Office (PHO) reported 11 dengue-related deaths  in Negros Occidental this year, even as total cases dropped by 38.22 percent from January 4 to September 15.Five other dengue deaths have also been reported in Bacolod City this year.The PHO report on  Thursday, Sept. 17, did not yet include the 11-year-old boy who succumbed to  dengue in Silay City on Sept. 15, which was reported by the Silay City Health Office.There were  2,889 dengue cases in Negros Occidental from January  4 to  September 15,  down by 1,787 cases compared to the 4,676 recorded in the same period last year, the PHO reported.La Carlota City registered the highest number of dengue cases at 566 cases, followed by Bago City with 236,...

The PSR 03-171 distribution on Thursday.* Victorias PIO photoThe Victorias City government turned over PSR 03-171, a high-yielding and pest-tolerant sugarcane variety, to local farmers at Barangay V on Thursday, September 17.High-quality cane points were distributed to 50 Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) for actual field cultivation.The initiative marks Victorias City's distinction as  the first local government to  provide a budget for small sugarcane farmers   to improve and enhance their productivity, PHILSURIN Director General Maria Regina B. Martin said.Martin said  PSR 03-171 is more tolerant  to the highly destructive  Red-stripe soft scale insects and has shown minimal to no stunting.The other RSSI-hit cane varieties h...

Damage under one of the roads in La Castellana.* photo courtesy of Atty. Rayfrando DiazThe Negros Occidental provincial government redeployed heavy equipment with fuel support to La Castellana on Thursday, Sept. 17, to assist with clearing operations following a renewed lahar flow from Kanlaon Volcano triggered by heavy rain.Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said that while no households have been affected by flooding so far, immediate repairs are necessary due to road damage in the municipality.A team from the Provincial Environment and Management Office (PEMO) was also dispatched to assess the situation at Ibid Creek and Barangay Calapnagan, Diaz added.*

 Brig. Gen. Rudecindo Reales, director of Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR), talks to reporters during a meet and greet event at Camp Alfredo M. Montelibano Jr. in Bacolod City, Wednesday.*PRO-NIR photo Brig. Gen. Rudecindo Reales, director of Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR), underscored the shared mission of the police and the media in serving the public, but urged the latter to always hold the Philippine National Police accountable."But partnership does not mean that you stop asking difficult questions. Quite the opposite. Ask us. Challenge us. Hold us accountable," Reales said during his meet and greet with reporters at Camp Alfredo M. Montelibano Jr. in Bacolod City Wednesday night.The PRO-NIR chief, who assumed the post on Sept. 7, said th...

The Land Transportation Office-Negros Island Region has issued show cause orders against the operator, driver and conductor of a modernized public utility jeepney following an alleged passenger harassment incident in Bacolod City.LTO-NIR said on Sept. 16, that the incident involving modernized jeepney occurred in Brgy. Pahanocoy on Sept. 14.The agency’s Intelligence and Investigation Unit issued show cause orders to the UNETCO operator and the vehicle’s driver and conductor as part of an administrative investigation.LTO-NIR said the incident involved allegations of body shaming, verbal abuse and passenger intimidation.UNETCO has separately placed the driver and conductor under a 30-day suspension, while the LTO investigation remains ongoing.The agency warned that violat...

Aurelio Gerardo J. Valderrama Jr.*The Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations Inc. (CONFED) unanimously re-elected Aurelio Gerardo J. Valderrama Jr. as president for Crop Years 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 during its annual membership meeting in Makati City  Wednesday, Sept. 16.Marking his fifth and sixth crop years in the post, the move secures Valderrama's position as the longest-serving president in CONFED's history, a press release from the group said.Joining Valderrama on the newly elected executive line-up are:VP for Luzon: Loreto C. MabborangVP for Visayas: Alfonso F. GamboaVP for Mindanao: Antonio Ferdinand Y. MarañonTreasurer: Nicholas Gerardo P. Lede.sma Jr.Secretary: Maria Regina B. Martin.During the meeting, the Board also unanimously appr...

Two men were arrested after police seized about P137,900 worth of suspected shabu and a .357 revolver during a buy-bust operation in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, on Wednesday, Sept. 16.Police identified the suspects as alias “Julius,” 29, and alias “Michael,” 44, of Seaside Village, Brgy. 1, San Carlos City.The San Carlos City Police Station Drug Enforcement Team conducted the operation at around 12:42 p.m. in Seaside Village.Police said a sachet of suspected shabu was allegedly sold to a poseur-buyer during the operation.A subsequent search led to the recovery of six sachets containing about 20.28 grams of suspected shabu with a standard drug price of P137,904, police said.Authorities also recovered a .357 caliber Smith & Wesson   revolver and thre...

Negros Occidental’s provincial government will use its earnings from Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) shares in Capitol-run dialysis hospitals for financial assistance to patients.In a Facebook post on Thursday, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson issued the directive so that all treatments and procedures in the provincial government-owned and operated hospitals will be free of charge to all Negrense patients.The shares from the dialysis package include PHP73.35 million each from hospital fees and from the ZRL Group, Inc., operator of the dialysis centers in the three public hospitals.Along with the PHP8.56 million for professional fees, the three hospitals logged earnings totaling PHP155.26 million.“Team Negros Occiden...

Lt. Col. Ian Paul Arapols has assumed office as the new acting chief of police of the Guihulngan City Police Station in Negros Oriental following a turnover ceremony on Wednesday, Sept. 16.Arapols succeeded Lt. Col. Nerito Lobrido, the outgoing officer-in-charge of the city police station, according to the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office.The turnover ceremony was held at the Guihulngan City Police Station in Brgy. Poblacion and was attended by Negros Oriental acting police director Col. Jonathan Abella, Deputy Provincial Director for Administration Lt. Col. Joeson Parallag, and Guihulngan City Mayor Filomeno “Mikoy” Reyes.During the ceremony, Lobrido formally relinquished his post and transferred the office symbol and documents covering the station’s existing operation...