Top Stories

Disinfection of pig pens in San Enrique continues.* Biosecurity measures are being strengthened in the Sixth District, especially in Ilog town, which is the latest local government unit in Negros Occidental to be hit with pig deaths from various illnesses. The pig deaths in Ilog rose from 35 on Sunday to 78 on Monday, June 5, the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) reported. Ilog is the lone area in the Sixth District that has reported pig deaths from diseases. The pig deaths in Negros Occidental were 10,369 representing 9.1 percent of the province’s hog population as of Monday, the PVO said. This has resulted in losses of P118,149,325 affecting 1,960 hog raisers, the PVO added. The PVO quarantine team held a meeting with Ilog officials led by Mayor Paul Alvarez and the t...

Councilor Claudio Jesus “Kalaw” Puentevella* The Central Negros Electric Cooperative and Primelectric Holdings Inc. (PHI) joint venture agreement is the best option for Bacolod consumers who have long been suffering from CENECO’s poor services, Councilor Claudio Jesus “Kalaw” Puentevella said Monday, June 5. Puentevella, who chairs the Committee on Energy of the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod, held a consultation Monday where the proponents of the JVA gave a presentation. Roel Castro, PHI president and chief executive officer, also presented Puentevella with a copy of the JVA that was signed Saturday. Puentevella said he will endorse the copy of the JVA to the SP on Wednesday for deliberation. The councilor said those who are against and in favor of the JVA were heard at th...

The MassKara performers dancing their way down Madison Avenue in New York.*Jason Villarosa photo Thousands of New Yorkers and Filipinos cheered as Bacolod’s MassKara performers danced their way down Madison Avenue in New York City during the 125th Philippine Independence Day Parade on Sunday, June 4. The performance of the Barangay Granada MassKara dancers was world class, it was a proud moment for Filipinos and Bacolodnons, Bacolod Councilor Jason Villarosa said. They kept up their lively performance even when their music got cut off, he said. The New York event is dubbed the world’s largest Philippine Independence Day Parade outside of the Philippines. Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, who was appointed Philippine Independence Day Council Inc. honorary grand marshal...

Negros Occidental Provincial Elections Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria* The Commission on Elections is purging double registrants from its voters’ lists based on its the Automated Fingerprint Identification System records, Negros Occidental Provincial Elections Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria said Monday, June 5. Ananoria said the number of double registrants, or flying voters to be purged, may be minimal. He expects the final voters list for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) on October 30, to be ready by the end of June. Application for exemption from the Comelec gun ban started Monday, Ananoria also said. The gunban during the election period will be from August 28 to November 29.Those seeking exemption may visit https://comelec.gov.ph/?r=2023BSKE/GunBan/Appl...

The business sector welcomes the joint venture agreement between Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO) and Primelectric Holdings Inc. (PHI) but is urging the creation of a Visayas Grid Coordinating Council to ensure power reliability, Frank Carbon, Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive officer, said Monday, June 5. Carbon told DIGICAST NEGROS that a coordinating council, composed of industry players who supply, generate, transmit and distribute electricity, and agencies like the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, Department of Energy and Energy Regulatory Board, is needed to discuss how to make power supply in the Visayas sufficient, reliable, and affordable. Carbon said PHI presented its JVA proposal to MBCCI, and the businessmen asked...

The police arrested a Silaynon for allegedly violating the Comprehensive Drugs Act after they seized suspected shabu worth P360,400 in Brgy. Singcang-Airport, Bacolod City, on Saturday, June 3. Aldrin Remegio, alias “Meg”, 30 of Brgy. Mambulac, Silay City, Negros Occidental, was arrested in a buy-bust operation, the Bacolod City Police Office reported Monday. Confiscated from Remegio were 15 sachets of suspected shabu weighing 53 grams worth P360,4000, the report said. This was the third buy-bust operation conducted by the BCPO in the past three days. DIGICAST NEGROS earlier reported that the Bacolod police had arrested four individuals through buy-bust operations in barangays 10 and 35 and confiscated suspected shabu worth P387,600.*

A man pinned to the ground by a solar panel that fell from a lamp post was found dead in Hacienda San Ramon, Brgy. Sta. Cruz, Murcia in Negros Occidental on Sunday, June 4, the police said. The man was identified by his parents as John Paul Gayle, 21, of Brgy. Alijis, Bacolod City. Boy Gravino, Sta. Cruz barangay captain, said that there has been a series of stealing of solar-powered lamps in his barangay. He said that the victim was allegedly one of the identified individuals tagged to a group that might have stolen the solar panels. Gravino said that out of 25 solar-powered lamps, 14 have already been stolen by unidentified individuals resulting in a darker pathway for the residents going home late at night. “Some of the residents who walk late at night going to Brgy....

The United Negros Drivers and Operator Center-Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (UNDOC PISTON) – held its general assembly and election of new officers Sunday, June 4. The new officers are Rodolfo Gardoce – president, Gerry Gallos - vice president (internal), Eric Locson - vice president (external), Eric Bendoy – secretary general, Jonathan Mahilum - deputy secretary, Virginia Garcia – treasurer, Jaime Bawaan – auditor, and Dominador Lumindog - public information officer, a press release from the group said. “UNDOC PISTON remains steadfast in its call for the national government to discard the DO 2017-011 Omnibus Franchising Guidelines (OFG). Instead, the organization advocates for a people-centered modernization program that prioritizes the preservation...