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The Commission on Elections has issued another show cause order for premature campaigning and vote-buying against a Sipalay City candidate, Negros Occidental Provincial Election Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria said Friday, September 29. It is the second show cause order issued in the province. The first one was for premature campaigning lodged against a Bacolod candidate, he said. The Comelec has stepped up its campaign against premature campaigning and Kontra Bigay (vote buying) offenders in the 2023 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections. Two other candidates in Cadiz City are under investigation for alleged Kontra Bigay violations, Ananoria added. The Comelec has created the Committee on Kontra Bigay (CBK) to handle cases versus vote buying. Violations of the Kontra...

First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos and Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Benitez at the 37th Negros Trade Fair on Friday.*Ronnie Baldonado photo First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos showed support for the producers at the 37th Negros Trade Fair at Glorietta 2 in Makati City by buying a lot of their products during her visit Friday afternoon, September 29,, NTF vice chairperson MaryAnn Feria Colmenares said. Marcos joined Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez at the Bacolod Day at the NTF that highlighted the upcoming MassKara Festival. The First Lady said the products made in Negros are very nice, Benitez disclosed. The visit of First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos to the 37th Negros Trade Fair on Friday.*Ronnie Baldonado photos Sales at the NTF as of Thursday hit P2...

The 12 NPA surrenderees at rites in Sagay City on Friday.*303IB photo A high ranking leader and 11 combatants of the New People’s Army (NPA) surrendered at rites held at the Army’s 79th Infantry Battalion headquarters in Barangay Bato, Sagay City, Negros Occidental, on Friday, September 29. The remnants of the dismantled Northern Negros Front of the Komiteng Rehiyonal Negros/Cebu/Bohol/Siquijor, New People’s Army, also turned over three high-powered firearms and nine pistols to the Philippine Army. The high-ranking NPA leader who surrendered was identified as alias Ebyong who served as the secretary/commanding officer of the now defunct Northern Negros Front. Capt. Dan Carlo Samoza, Civil-Military Operations Officer of the 79IB, told DIGICAST NEGROS that this surrender was a r...

A 46-year-old mother died after a 14-wheeler truck carrying tons of sugarcane accidentally fell on her at the highway in Sitio Cabcab, Brgy. Tabo, Ilog, Negros Occidental, on Friday, September 29. Ilog Municipal Executive Senior Police Officer Larry Arriola told DIGICAST NEGROS that the victim was Alma Claridad, 46, of Barangay Tabo. The police said that Alma and her husband, Reynaldo, 60, both sugarcane workers, were walking on the side of the road when the tire of the 14-wheeler truck busted causing it to fall on its side. The husband had no injuries but Alma was buried alive beneath the sugarcane that fell on her. Alma was brought to the Lorenzo D. Zayco District Hospital in Kabankalan City but was declared dead on arrival, the police said. Arriola said that the driv...

The Negros Occidental Provincial Joint Security Control Center (PJSCC) is still assessing whether Barangay Tabugon in Kabankalan City should be tagged as an election area of concern following an encounter that caused the death of six alleged members of the New People’s Army. There are 51 barangays in Negros Occidental tagged as election areas of concern ahead of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls on October 30. Most of the 51 barangays were included in the list because of insurgency related concerns and not because of intense political rivalry, Provincial Election Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria said Friday, September 29. The list is subject to review with political rivalry likely to heat up in some barangays as the polls near, he said. The PJSCC is set to meet on Oct...

PMaj. Junji Liba, BTAO head, said towing will start October 9.* The Bacolod Traffic Authority Office (BTAO) has initiated a campaign against illegal parking in a bid to instill discipline among operators of public utility vehicles, private vehicles, and tricycles. Spearheaded by PMaj. Junji Liba, BTAO head, the crackdown aims to alleviate traffic congestion and ensure smooth vehicular flow within the city, the Bacolod Public Information Office reported Friday, September 29. BTAO has strategically placed fixed signages across targeted areas to disseminate information about the new regulations. These signages include red indicators signaling a strict no-parking zone and yellow, denoting regulated parking hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Beyond this timeframe, parking is permissible. ...

The dengue deaths in Negros Occidental increased to seven with 1,103 cases reported this year, the Provincial Health Office reported Friday, September 29. The PHO reported six dengue deaths on September 20. But the dengue cases from January to September this year remain 79.91 percent lower than the 5,489 cases in the same period in 2022. Leptospirosis deaths for this year remained at 15 and eight for cholera, the PHO also reported. There have been 127 suspected leptospirosis cases and 71 suspected and 16 confirmed cholera cases this year, the PHO added.*

Taking the cue from the “Matatag” agenda of the Department of Education, the Victorias Milling Company (VMC) with the VMC Foundation elevated their “Brigada Eskwela” program by redefining programs that will establish a better learning environment for the students in their constituency. VMC President Linley Retirado said VMC is “focusing more on building resilient schools and classrooms” and recognizing that the only way to move forward with this plan is to “strengthen partnerships with various government agencies, the local government units as well as the parents-teachers associations of the various schools in the communities we serve.” Along with its foundation arm, VMC recently launched their program in various schools in Manapla town, Victorias City and Cadiz City, a press re...

Two suspects, including a habal-habal- driver, were arrested in buy-bust operations in Tanjay City and Valencia town in Negros Oriental, on Friday, September 29. Nabbed was alias “Pol”, a habal-habal driver in Saging Malaunay, Valencia. The police seized 0.5 gram of suspected shabu valued at P1,500 and buy-bust money worth P500 from him in Purok 4, Brgy. West Balabag, Valencia. Meanwhile, alias “Jun”, a street-level individual was arrested with suspected shabu weighing four grams worth P27,200 in Brgy. Tugas, Tanjay City, the police said.*