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Bobby Magalona with MassKara Festival Chair Jojie Dingcong.*Ronnie Baldonado photoHotels in Bacolod City are now in full capacity for the weekend of October 19 to 22, when the MassKara Festival goes full blast to celebrate the highlights.Bobby Magalona, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Negros Occidental (HRANO) president, said this weekend alone, establishments in the city have already posted a 70 percent occupancy rate, a press release from the Bacolod Yuhum Foundation said Wednesday, October 11."We are thankful for the economic opportunity this festival brings as it shows we are really gaining popularity as a festival and this translates to positive economic growth," Magalona said.He said that because of the high occupancy rate, hotels and restaurants have hired additi...

PCol. Leo Pamittan*The eldest daughter of the Fausto couple who were massacred along with their two sons has decided to file murder charges against the New People Army rebels, PCol. Leo Pamittan, Negros Occidental provincial police director, said Tuesday October 10.Rolly and Emilda Fausto and their two sons died after they were riddled with bullets at their home in Brgy Buenavista, Himamaylan City, on June 14.Emily, the eldest daughter of the Faustos, has informed the Himamaylan police that she will sign the documents for the filing of the charges before the prosecutor’s office, Pamittan said.All the affidavits are ready all she has to do is sign, he said.The charges will be filed against more than 10 NPA rebels, Pamittan said.Pamittan said they cannot divulge the ...

Cailah Jhane Delarma.*MBM photoAn artist who always finds beauty in small things takes the pageant stage as she aspires to become the new Miss Bacolod MassKara this year.Cailah Jhane Delarma, 21, an electrical engineering student from the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos joined the biggest pageant of the MassKara Festival with her advocacy for elderly care.She always makes something out of little things like making art, Delarma said.When her grandfather died, she decorated her lolo’s insulin bottles to make art.She said that among the things that she treasures from her pageant experience was her number tag when she went through the screening.She said it reminds her of the purpose of why she joined MBM.Asked to define “asenso”, she said it means progress...

The PDEA search for illegal drugs at the Talisay City Jail yielded negative results.*All 64 jail personnel and persons deprived of liberty yielded negative results in the random drug testing conducted by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Western Visayas at the Talisay City Jail in Negros Occidental on Tuesday, October 10.The PDEA-6 Seaport Interdiction Unit and Negros Occidental Field Unit personnel conducted a search and seizure operation and drug testing of personnel at the Talisay City Jail.The random drug tests were administered on 34 PDLs and 30 Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) personnel in Talisay.Apart from the testing, no illicit substances were discovered during the search and seizure procedure, the PDEA said.PDEA said that the operation is pa...

The New People Army rebels have violently killed 47 persons in Negros Island, 31 of whom were civilians, from 2022 to 2023, the military reported on Tuesday, October 10.There were 34 civilians, five soldiers, three former rebels, four government officials, and one policeman killed, the military reported at a press conference on NPA atrocities in Negros held at the Social Hall of the Negros Occidental Capitol in Bacolod City on Tuesday, October 10.Twenty-five of the killings were owned by the NPA, the report said.Military data also showed that the killings from January to August this year were 27, which are higher than the total for the entire 2022.This despite the military report that of the five NPA guerrilla fronts in Negros, three have been dismantled and two have weaken...

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez*Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said road and drainage work in Bacolod City have temporarily been stopped during the duration of the MassKara Festival to ease traffic.Department of Public Works and Highways District Engineer Abraham Villareal issued an order stopping all road construction in in Bacolod, Benitez said.They can resume work on the roads and drainages after October 22, he saidMeanwhile, Villareal and DPWH 6 regional director Sanny Boy Oropel are in Japan looking at different floodgates to determine what is applicable for Bacolod, Benitez said.One of the causes of flooding in Bacolod City is high tide water, which can be mitigated with floodgates, Benitez said.The floodgates are being eyed for the major rivers of Baco...

The missing Chihuahuas*A man was caught by a CCTV camera stealing two Chihuahua dogs in Brgy. 3, Bacolod City, early Tuesday morning, October 10.The Chihuahuas owned by Ma. Salvacion Ebalan, 61, of Purok Nangka, Brgy. 3, were stolen by an unidentified suspect from her residence.Ebalan told DIGICAST NEGROS that the two dogs were caged outside of their house and they discovered that they were missing.The thief with the two dogs as shown in the CCTV camera footage.*The Chihuahuas are Amira, 1-year-old with black and white fur, and Jacah, aged 8 months old, with black fur.The thief caught in the act of stealing the dogs by a CCTV camera has a tattoo on his right upper arm and is of medium build.Ebalan said they are seeking the public’s help to find the missing dogs ...

Chasz Uy*It was his dream to play against the who’s who in the world of billiards and 9-year old Chasz Uy gets to achieve this in the 2nd Mayor Albee Benitez 10-ball Billiards Tournament, a major sports event in this year’s MassKara Festival.Chasz is scheduled to play against Efren “Bata” Reyes in an exhibition game 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Main Atrium of SM City Bacolod after his wish was granted by Bacolod Yuhum Foundation that arranged the match with “The Magician.”A 4th grader in STI West Negros University, Chasz is the youngest player that signed up for the tournament but bowed out of the race after losing his first two games.Nevertheless, it was worth the experience after he got to play with another billiards champ, Django Bustamante in his first match who was quoted a...

The planned new Manokan Country will be located in the middle of the new facility.*SM Prime Holdings Inc. aims to begin its about P4 billion development of the Manokan Country and adjacent properties, which it is leasing from the Bacolod City government, by mid-2024, Gusi Balatbat, its vice president for property development, said Tuesday, October 10.Balatbat said SM will pay P132 million in advance rent covering seven years for the 16,875 square meters property when it signs a lease agreement with the Bacolod City government that is targeted to take place soon.The property to be leased for development includes the Manokan Country, Vendors Plaza, Bacolod Arts, Youth and Sports Center and nearby areas at Fr. Ferrero Street.Manokan Country tenants were assured during a San...

Councilors Sherwin Sy and Arthur Christopher Marañon, and Vice Mayor Leo Rafael Cueva (l-r) lead the public hearing on the proposed Anti-Plastics Ordinance.*Sagay City Vice Mayor Leo Rafael Cueva and the Sangguniang Panlungsod members led the first public hearing on a proposed "Anti-Plastics Ordinance" on Tuesday, October 10.Cueva, at the hearing at the Balay Kauswagan in Sagay City, stressed the importance of the ordinance that “ aligns with our conservation efforts and the welfare of our ocean and communities”, a press release said.He urged everyone to actively support the ordinance and to do their share at homes, in the work place and in the communities.SP Committee Chairperson on Environment, Councilor Arthur Christopher Marañon, urged everyone to support the ordinance ...