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The two decomposing bodies found in a culvert along the Economic Highway in Barangay Felisa, Bacolod City, on Sunday are beyond recognition, Col. Noel Aliño, Bacolod acting police director, said Monday, May 1.They may be persons from outside Bacolod because no one has been reported missing in the city so far, he said.The Bacolod police have contacted the La Castellana police where two teenagers had been reported missing on April 19, Aliño said.Aliño said he is hoping the two bodies do not belong to the two minors so that there is still hope that they are alive.DNA tests will have to be conducted to determine who the fatalities are since their faces can no longer be recognized, he added.The remains of one was almost just a skeleton, while the other body was bloated.A...

Firefighters putting out the blaze at the Metrobank Bacolod -Araneta Branch.* Chamber Volunteer Fire Brigade photoA fire hit the Metrobank Bacolod – Araneta branch at Araneta Street in Barangay 13, Bacolod City, at 12:49 a.m. Monday, May 1, the Bureau of Fire Protection Bacolod reported.The fire hit the second floor offices of the bank and estimated damage was placed at P2.4 million, SFO4 Paulo Antonio Garin Jr., Deputy City Fire Marshal, said.They were still investigating the cause of the fire, he said.It took about 44 minutes to put out the fire, he added.*

The new head of the Sugar Regulatory Administration is upbeat about the future of the Philippine sugar industry with farmgate prices expected to remain profitable for farmers, even as retail prices drop.Pablo Luis Azcona, SRA acting administrator and chief executive officer, said on Monday, May 1, that they are focusing on the distribution of seized smuggled refined sugar for sale at P70 a kilo through Kadiwa outlets and local governments units (LGUs), and on ways to increase the country’s domestic production of the sweetener.Of the close to 10,000 tons of seized sugar about 4,000 tons have already been approved for sale at Kadiwa stores and through LGUs, he told DIGICAST NEGROS.Azcona said the SRA would grant the request of Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez for more sugar to be s...

Senator Bong Go and Bago Mayor Nicholas Yulo at the groundbreaking of the Bago Super Health Center on Sunday.*Bago Citybridge photoSenator Bong Go called on the public on Sunday, April 30, to continue wearing face masks and to get vaccinated to protect themselves against COVID-19.Go was in Negros Occidental for the groundbreaking of a Super Health Center in Bago City and for the Pasalamat Festival in La Carlota City.The senator, in an interview in La Carlota, said vaccination against COVID-19 is “the solution to our gradually returning to our normal lives”.People are still dying from COVID so it is important that we protect ourselves, he said.Go, Senate Committee on Health chair, who led the groundbreaking of a Super Health Center in Barangay Atipuluan, Bago, said he is...

Senator Bong Go (2nd from left) with UNegA officials Rep. Alfredo Marañon III, Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer and Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante (l-r)*Bong Go FB page photoThe gathering of United Negros Alliance and Love Negros members at the Pasalamat Festival in La Carlota City on Sunday, April 30, is proof that their coalition is “strong and getting stronger”, Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante, UNegA secretary general, said.Escalante said the mayors of the province and other officials were invited to the Pasalamat Festival by Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer, UNegA president, where they also met with Senator Bong Go.Also present were Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez of Love Negros and Rep. Alfredo Marañon III, UNegA chairman.Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson of Love Ne...

Two male bodies were found inside a culvert pipe along the Economic Highway in Barangay Felisa, Bacolod City, Sunday afternoon, April 30.The two bodies were found by persons passing the area at about 4:15 p.m., PSSgt. Maximo Hiponia of Police Station 10 said.They are still determining the cause of death of the two who may have been dead for four to five days as their bodies were already decomposing, he said.*

Floodwaters at San Juan Street.*Barbara Mijares photoHeavy rain brought on by a sudden thunderstorm during high tide triggered flooding in some parts of Bacolod City on Sunday afternoon, April 30.Among the flood-hit areas were Barangay 16, SM City, and the Bacolod public plaza, Dr. Anna Maria Laarni Pornan, City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Officer, said.Pornan also cited the slow exit of the water at the Mambuloc Creek for the flooding.Flooding also briefly occurred at the flyover area at Araneta Street, she added.*

The General Alliance of Workers Association is supporting calls for wage hikes through two petitions filed before the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) of Western Visayas and through Congress.GAWA Secretary General Wennie Sancho said on Sunday, April 30, that they are supporting both moves, whichever comes first.Various labor groups are staging protest on Labor Day, May 1, to demand for wage hikes.“Today the majority of the workers are underpaid, underfed, underprotected and underemployed. What we need is an urgent economic relief in the form of a substantial wage increase in the daily minimum wage from P150 to P350 per day in Western Visayas,” he said.“We are facing times of economic crisis, joblessness, record breaking inflation and shrinking income...

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and the Electric Cooperatives Association of Region VI (ECAR VI) on Saturday, April 29, asked the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to address the frequent power outrages that have been hitting Negros and Panay Islands.“Having a reliable and stable power supply amid the dry season is important. That is why we are seeking action and accountability from all concerned agencies,” Benitez said in a statement on Saturday, April 29.Benitez pointed out that in the past few days “we have all experienced voltage fluctuations and power outages that may have caused damage to our home and office appliances”.The mayor said he had coordinated with the NGCP to get an explanation on the root cause of the problem.NGCP told the mayor th...