Top Stories

Schools under the Department of Education – Negros Occidental Division have enrolled 159,347 elementary and secondary learners, its spokesperson said on Friday, July 26.  Classes are set to start on Monday, July 29, and additional enrollees will still be accepted, Arnold Arnaez, the division’s spokesperson, said. The enrollees as of Friday were about one half of last year’s 325,000, which Arnaez said could be because of the delayed downloading of the names of those who enrolled online. There are also those who wait until classes start to enroll, he added.  Of the total enrollees on Friday, 88,724 were elementary learners and 70,623 were secondary students, Arnaez said.  Those enrolled in private schools were 26,852 of which 9,000 were elementary learners ...

The section of the esplanade wall that caved in*Romeo Subaldo photo     A section of the wall of the P37 million esplanade beside the Bacolod City Government Center caved in amid heavy rain this week. Jolito Agaton, a resident of the area, said cracks had been seen on the side of esplanade wall earlier. When heavy rain poured the side of the esplanade caved in at about 2 p.m. Wednesday, he said. The esplanade project of the Department of Public Works and Highways was opened to the public on June 2019. DPWH District Engineer Abraham Villareal could not be reached for comment. Some of the lamp posts at the esplanade have also been stolen, while others no longer work.*

PCol. Joeresty Coronica, BCPO director*  The new Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) director said he has ordered a deeper investigation into persons collecting   sensitive   information, which could pose a threat to national security.  PCol. Joeresty Coronica, who assumed his post as BCPO director on Wednesday, held a press conference on Friday, July 26, where he outlined his priorities.  He said among his priorities is to determine the motive of a Chinese-looking businesswoman in collecting information from government issued identification cards and driver’s licenses of Bacolod residents for a fee.  “We want to know what the information is used for”, Coronica said, adding that they have not discounted the possibility that a syndicate is ...

Victorias Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez at the  Negros and  Siquijor Island Region  Disaster Risk  Reduction Management Summit on Friday.*  Victorias Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez called  the Negros and  Siquijor Island Region  Disaster Risk  Reduction Management Summit  at the Victorias City Command and Evacuation Center on Friday, July 26,  a historic event.  “The safety and welfare of our people, the security of our economies, and our future depend on our collective action as one region,” said Benitez, in his speech.  The summit  organized by the  Alliance of Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officers in Negros Island Inc. (ADDRMONI) was their first since President Ferdinand Marcos signed the creation of the Negros Island Regi...

More than 5,000 commercial establishments in malls in Bacolod City could be closed down for lack of fire inspection certificates and business permits. The majority of the tenants at the 888 China Town Square Mall have been issued second notices of violation because of lack of business permits. City Legal Officer Romeo Carlos Ting Jr. said Friday, July 26,  the Bureau of Fire Protection has also not given the mall a fire inspection certificate for failure to comply with the requirements of the Fire Code of the Philippines. This has affected the mall tenants whose stores could be closed down, he said. DIGICAST NEGROS tried to get the side of the mall management but they refused to comment on the matter. The Permits and Licensing Division said several other malls in t...

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez,   Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) and Victorias Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez (l-r) are supporting Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson.*  Victorias Mayor Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez said on Friday, July 26, that his family will support the reelection bid of Gov.  Eugenio Jose Lacson Jr. even if their relative Francis Frederick “Wantan” Palanca insists on running for governor.  Palanca, a former Victorias City mayor, is a cousin of Betty Bantug Benitez, the late mother of Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District)   and grandmother of Javi Benitez.  It is not known if Palanca will pursue the governorship in 2025 under the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino of forme...

A laborer was shot dead  by a barangay tanod in Sitio Marcel, Brgy. Cansalongon, Isabela, Negros Occidental, on Thursday,  July 25,  the police reported Friday.  Jasin Carpio, 22, was shot by Ronald Delgado, alias “Akol”, the police reported. The victim was intoxicated and was behaving violently when the suspect tried to pacify him, the police added. However, the victim ignored the tanod’s efforts and drew a bolo from his waist and attempted to attack him, the police said. The suspect then drew his firearm and shot the victim. The victim was rushed to the Isabela Rural Health Unit but was declared dead on arrival, while the suspect fled.*

Three suspects, including a Bacoleña, were arrested and shabu worth about P108,800 was seized in a buy-bust operation at the NOCECO Village in Brgy. 1, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, on Thursday, July 25.  Arrested were Marissa Yrezabal, 41, the subject of the operation, of Brgy. 2, Bacolod City, and Jestoni Boluntate, 24, from Brgy. Kamansi and Joefrey Dolor, 54, of Brgy. 1 in Kabankalan City.  The three suspects were tagged by the police as street-level drug personalities.  The police recovered suspected shabu weighing 16 grams, an improvised plastic scoop with traces of shabu, paper bills, and an improvised glass tube. The suspects are now in police custody while the recovered drug evidence was brought to the Police Provincial Forensic Unit for examinatio...

City PIO photo The Bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine Intensive Catch-Up Immunization and Supplemental Immunization Activity of the Department of Health (DOH) has covered 387,557 children in Western Visayas from March to July this year.  To address the increasing number of unimmunized and under vaccinated children, they conducted  two programs that led to the vaccination of 252,524 children ages 24 to 59 months old and 135,033 children ages 0 to 23 months, the DOH reported on Friday, July  26.  The program aims to protect the children against the Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (VPDs) and increase coverage, the DOH said. With the opening of classes next week, DOH-6 is also planning to provide technical directions for the implementation of School Based Immunization to...

China Energy Engineering Group Shanxi Electric Power Engineering Co., Ltd. holds a groundbreaking and mobilization ceremony for the 65-megawatt Areco Solar PV Power Plant Project in Bacolod City*  A Chinese solar power company has joined the Philippine government’s efforts to boost supply capacity of renewable energy by constructing a photovoltaic (PV) power project in Bacolod City. The China Energy Engineering Group Shanxi Electric Power Engineering Co., Ltd. held a groundbreaking and mobilization ceremony for the 65-megawatt (MW) Areco Solar PV Power Plant Project in Bacolod City, marking the official start of the construction stage for its first PV power project in the Philippines on July 14. The Areco Solar PV Power Plant Project will have a capacity of 50 MW and involves con...

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson are warning the public against persons offering to pay to take photographs of their nationally issued identification cards or driver’s licenses.  They warned that the data taken could be used by others to assume their identities or for scams.  Benitez, on his radio program “Isugid Kay Mayor” on Wednesday night, said “this could be a smoking gun, we will not take this lightly”.  “If we can prevent a crime, much better,” he said.   The mayor called for a proper investigation into reports that a Chinese-looking female offered some Bacolod residents money in exchange for their allowing her to take photographs of their nationally issued IDs or driver’s licenses.  He...

A barangay kagawad was stabbed dead while he was sleeping in his house by an unidentified suspect in Purok Maalikaya, Brgy. Canjusa, Pulupandan, Negros Occidental, on Sunday, July 21.   Fernando Jacildo, 66, a security guard and a Barangay Canjusa kagawad, died after he was stabbed multiple times in his bedroom, the police reported.  His daughter came out of her room when she heard her father begging for help and saw him running towards her while holding his bleeding neck, the police said.  The victim was rushed by the Pulupandan Rescue Unit to the Valladolid District Hospital but  was declared dead on arrival due to blood loss secondary to multiple stab wounds.  The daughter of the victim said the suspect was wearing black shorts, a black cap...

The police arrested a drug suspect and seized shabu worth P102,000 in a buy-bust operation in Brgy. 39, Bacolod City, on Wednesday, July 24. Arrested was alias  “Joshua”, 20, of Barangay  39, a Police Regional Office-6 report said.  The police confiscated from him seven sachets of suspected shabu weighing 15 grams.  The suspect is now under the custody of the police and will be charged for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. BGen. Jack Wanky, PRO-6 Director,  said that they will be investigating the cohorts of the suspect and will conduct law enforcement operations if evidence warrants.* 

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson with officials of the Department of Education and Negrense medalists in boxing.*Richard Malihan photo The Negros Occidental provincial government awarded P901,000 in cash incentives to its athletes who won medals in the just-concluded 2024 Palarong Pambansa held in Cebu City at rites on Thursday, July 25. The amount consisted of P224,000 for elementary division medalists, P581,000 for secondary level winners, and P96,000 for paragames athletes.  Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, who led the distribution of cash incentives in the presence of Department of Education officials at the Negros Residences in Bacolod City, commended the athletes, with their coaches, chaperones, and trainers, for bringing home 87 medals – 31 golds, 34 silver...

The recovered Amorsolo painting.*  The culprits behind the theft of the  88-year-old  painting  by National Artist Fernando Amorsolo at the Hofileña Museum in Silay City should not be allowed  to get away with it scot free, Negros Occidental  Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Thursday, July 25.  Lacson said he discussed the status of the case with Col. Rainerio de Chavez, Negros Occidental police director, on Thursday.  Charges should be filed against the culprits to prevent them from committing another heist, Lacson said.  The police are “hoping that the family is willing to proceed with the case,” he said.  A source said the family was filing charges against the suspects.   The male and female who stole the “Mango Ha...