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The 3rd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army welcomes the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) investigation into an encounter that left six dead in Sitio Lubi, Brgy. Tabugon, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, on Friday, September 22, which the New People’s Army (NPA) claims was a massacre.Lt. Col. J-Jay Javines, Army 3ID Public Affairs Office chief, maintained on Monday, September 25, that the six killed in Kabankalan were members of the NPA and the claim that it was massacre is a standard NPA propaganda ploy.“We are open and we will fully cooperate with any investigation by any party. The result will eventually vindicate us from various allegations of human right violations. We are confident that the encounter was a legitimate encounter. We strictly follow our rules of engageme...

House Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin on Monday, September 25, urged immediate collaboration between the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) for an aggressive surveillance and information campaign about the Nipah virus to prevent Filipinos from being infected.“There should be actual and reliable information to the general public without being an alarmist so we should not scare people but they should know the truth about the virus and why it happens,” Garin said.“From Ebola to Zika to MERSCOV to COVID-19 to Nipah. This overemphasizes the need to prioritize Surveillance Centers in each DOH Regional Hospital immediately. Little investment in office and experts can go a long way,” the former health secretary said.According to the Centers for Disea...

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Negros Oriental Gov. Manuel Sagarbarria (right) at a meeting on the NIR last week.*Negros Oriental Facebook page photoAn agreement has been reached on the areas where national government offices will be assigned under a revived Negros Island Region (NIR), Negros Occidental Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Friday, September 22.“We have agreed with (Negros Oriental) Gov. (Manuel) Sagarbarria to maintain the same offices that were already assigned in Negros Occidental and Oriental” under the previous NIR,” Lacson said.The regional offices previously assigned to Negros Occidental were the National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Budget and Management, Commission on Audit, Department of Agriculture, National Irrigation Auth...

The bodies were dumped on the side of the road in Brgy. Dulao, Bago City, Negros Occidental.*PNP photoThe remains of two persons who were hogtied and believed strangulated before being dumped on the side of the road in Brgy. Dulao, Bago City, Negros Occidental, on Friday have been identified by their relatives, the police said on Sunday, September 24.The two fatalities were Bacolod residents who were the subjects of several complaints lodged before the city's Police Station 8 in the past, PSSgt. Armando Arao, Bago police investigator, said.Their relatives identified them as Scott Pill Arevalo, 37, and Edward Pille, 28, of Barangay Sincang-Airport, Bacolod City, Arao said.Arevalo is the son of an American national whom his mother met in Olongapo. His mother who was from Bara...

The presentation of the Entomological Survey results on Friday.*San Carlos PIO photoThe dengue cases in Barangay Rizal, San Carlos City, are alarming, a health official said.The Provincial Health Office (PHO) presented to San Carlos City Mayor Renato Gustilo the results of an Entomological Survey done in Brgy. Rizal on Friday, September 2.Medical Specialist II and City Health Office Technical Adviser Dr. Mary Genevieve Montaño said the Department of Health and PHO recommended the survey to have evidence-based findings on dengue vectors in Barangay Rizal, a San Carlos City Public Information Office (PIO) report said.The team found dengue carriers since most households in the barangay store water in uncovered containers which serve as breeding habitats for dengue-carrier mosq...

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) through its Sustainable Livelihood Program – Economic Relief Subsidy (SLP-ERS) has disbursed P13,920,000 to 928 rice retailers in Western Visayas as part of the second wave of payouts, bringing the total amount released to P17,685,000.Micro rice retailers affected of Executive Order 39, Series of 2023, or the imposition of the mandated price ceilings on rice, received a one-time subsidy of P 15,000.The recipients of the cash assistance included both registered and unregistered micro rice retailers identified by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), a DSWD press release said.The breakdown of recipients for the second batch of payouts is as follows: Aklan – 97, Antique – 165, Capiz – 172, Iloilo Province – 269, Iloilo ...

A slight decrease in fuel prices is expected Tuesday, September 26, amid the fear of the local business sector that a continuous increase could weaken the purchasing power resulting in economic stagnation in the last quarter of 2023.Fuel prices are expected to drop by P0.20 to P0.40 per liter for diesel and gasoline by P0.15 to P0.35 per liter on Tuesday, Unioil Petroleum Philippines, said.Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chief Executive Officer Frank Carbon told DIGICAST NEGROS Sunday, September 24, that they fear it will be challenging -ber months for households and businesses as prices continue to increase, especially for fuel.The current situation will hit hard especially those in the industries that use fuel, he said.On September 18 the year-to-date net i...

The arrest of Redeem Abadiano in Kabankalan City*The police arrested three suspects and seized P285,600 worth of suspected shabu in buy-bust operations in two cities and one town in Negros Occidental on Friday, September 22.Redeem Abadiano, 51, of Purok Uhaw, Brgy. 4, Kabankalan City, was arrested Friday evening, the police reported.The police said together with operatives from Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Region 6 they seized 25 grams of suspected shabu from Abadiano valued at P170,000.The suspect and recoveries are now under the custody of PDEA-Negros Occidental.In another buy-bust operation, Noli Dicto, 29, was also arrested in Brgy. 2, Silay City, where the police seized 15 grams of suspected shabu valued at P102,000.Dicto is now under the custody o...

A laborer was shot dead by an unidentified suspect in Purok Sampaguita, Brgy. San Benito, Calatrava town in Negros Occidental, early Saturday morning, September 23.Richman Barbon, 30, a laborer from Brgy. Patun-an in Calatrava town was shot dead while on the way home.Barbon was shot by an unidentified suspect on the left side of his chest, which caused his death.The police are still searching for the suspect.*