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Bacolod youth lining up to register to vote.*Barbara Mijares photo The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has registered a strong three-day turnout of 24,506 voter registrants in the Negros Island Region (NIR) as of Sunday, August 3, NIR Regional Election Director Lionel Marco Castillano said.Of the total registrants 15,356 were in Negros Occidental, 8,476 in Negros Oriental, and 674 in Siquijor.Castillano noted that 7,354 of the total registrants were male and 8,002 were female.The voter registration for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) started August 1 and will run until August 10.Provincial Elections Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria said that of the 5,775 who registered in Negros Occidental on Sunday, Cadiz City had the largest numbe...

A Toyota Raize turned upside down in a three-vehicle collision along Lacson Street in Brgy. 7, Bacolod City, early Sunday morning, August 3.Maj. Elmer Bonilla, head of the Traffic Management Unit of the Bacolod City Police Office, confirmed that the Toyota Raize, driven by Winston Calama-an Jr. of Bacolod City, flipped as a result of the impact.The crash occurred around 4:48 a.m. and involved a white Nissan Terra parked along the roadside, the Toyota Raize, and a Hyundai Reina driven by Larry Mondejar Jr. of Kabankalan City.The Hyundai Reina was eastbound on Lacson Street when it bumped into the rear of the Toyota Raize, a police report said.The Raize then hit the parked Nissan Terra and overturned.Mondejar sustained minor injuries from the crash and all three vehicles ...

Silt being removed in Barangay Banago, Bacolod City.*BCCO photo The Bacolod City government's desilting and clearing operations to minimize the risk of flooding has resulted in the removal of close to 45 tons of silt at the Banago River this August.About 44.8 tons or 32 cubic meters of sediment was removed from the Banago River, which is considered a major drainage outfall of the northern part of Bacolod, the city government reported on its Facebook page on Saturday, August 2.This is being done on orders of Mayor Greg Gasataya as a step to minimize the risk and impact of flooding in the city, it said.The City Legal Office Enforcement Team also cleared makeshift structures on the North Circumferential Road going to Bacolod-Silay Airport in the area of Barangay Bata, on Sunda...

PNA photo courtesy of Jack Biantan*President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has created an Inter-Agency Task Force for the preparation, organization, and hosting of the FIFA Futsal Women's World Cup (FFWWC) 2025 in the Philippines on Nov. 21 to Dec. 7.Pasig City in Metro Manila and Victorias City in Negros Occidental are serving as the host venues for the 16 top women’s national teams competing for the title.Under Administrative Order (AO) 35, inked by Marcos on July 30 and made public on Friday, the task force will be chaired by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and vice chaired by the Department of the Interior and Local Government.Other members include the tourism, foreign affairs, finance, budget, health, information and communications technology, public works, and transp...

Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz*The Negros Occidental provincial government is finalizing a group medical insurance package for its employees, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said on Friday, August 1.The Negros Occidental Sangguniang Panlalawigan has already granted the provincial government authority to engage a medical insurance provider, he explained.The initiative is made possible because of the Department of Budget and Management’s (DBM) Budget Circular No. 2024-6, which directs the granting of an annual medical allowance of P7,000 to eligible civilian government personnel, including those in local governments.Diaz said the provincial government employees have a choice - they can either use their P7,000 allowance to join a group insurance package or tak...

A 26-year-old laborer was stabbed dead by his brother-in-law in Brgy. Salong, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, early Saturday morning, August 2.The victim, Lloyd Bryan Roca, died from multiple stab wounds inflicted by his brother-in-law, Antonio Apatan, 33, inside their home in Purok Riverside, Sitio San Jose, the police reported.Lt. Col. Roberto Indiape Jr., Kabankalan Police Chief, said that the two were reportedly engaged in a heated argument around 2 a.m. when the suspect, in a fit of anger, grabbed an 11-inch kitchen knife and repeatedly stabbed the victim.Apatan later surrendered to Barangay Councilor Francisco Siplao and his tanods, who turned him over to the Kabankalan City Police Station at around 4:50 a.m., bringing with them the recovered weapon used in the attack...

Motorists can expect significant fuel price increases on Tuesday, August 5.Unioil Petroleum Philippines announced Saturday that diesel prices are projected to rise by P0.90 to P1.10 per liter.Gasoline prices are also expected to increase, with a projected hike of P1.50 to P1.80 per liter.*

Farmers unloading the cacao plants* Engiemar Tupas photoA farmer-based cacao plantation was officially launched in Don Salvador Benedicto town in Negros Occidental on Friday, August 1.The project is spearheaded by Ramon Uy Sr., president of the RU- Ecological and Agricultural Development Foundation Inc., and Chris Fadriga of the Criollo Cacao Nursery and Plantation.The initiative is in collaboration with the Benejiwan Integrated Social Forestry Association and the Provincial Environment and Management Office, Engiemar Tupas, trade and industry development specialist of the Department of Trade and Industry in Negros Occidental, said on Sunday.It aims to empower local farmers and establish Negros as a future producer of high-quality chocolate, Uy said.This is their secon...

A 26-year-old motorcyclist is now undergoing an operation on his leg after he was hit by a Toyota Innova along the national highway in Brgy. Prosperidad, San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, Friday afternoon, August 1.Capt. Rodney Sarona, San Carlos Deputy Police Chief, said the victim identified as Josiah Philip Cantero of Brgy. 5, San Carlos, sustained serious leg injuries after the car struck his motorcycle causing him to lose balance and crash to the ground.Sarona added that due to the impact Cantero suffered major injuries that required an operation.Initial investigation showed that the Toyota Innova, driven by 47-year-old Dino De Ramos Araneta, a loan officer from Bacolod City, was southbound when it collided with Cantero’s Yamaha Sniper motorcycle at an intersection....

A long line of voter registrants were seen outside the SM North Block in Bacolod on Friday.*Barbara Mijares photoDespite news of the expected postponement of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), 3,884 Negrenses registered to vote on Friday, August 1, the first day of the 10-day registration period.The registrants were composed of 1,732 males and 2,152 females, Provincial Elections Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria said.Bacolod City saw the highest turnout, with 467 new voters registering.The Comelec list of voter registrants in Negros Occidental on Friday*The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Bacolod aims to register about 500 voters dail...