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PCol. Noel Aliño*PCol. Noel Aliño, Bacolod acting police director, warned policemen who may be involved in illegal drugs not to test him.Those found involved in illegal drugs will be stripped of their guns and badges, and charges will be filed against them, Aliño, said on Thursday, April 20.“Don’t dare me,” Aliño said, stressing that he will not allow them to destroy the good name of the police.The results of the drug tests of 43 Bacolod police officers on Wednesday were still being awaited, he said.He said more surprise drug tests of Bacolod policemen will be conducted.Aliño is also reviewing unsolved cases, including the leaving of mutilated body parts in Bacolod City.He ordered the City Mobile Force Company and SWAT team to strengthen police visibility along ...

Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. said on Thursday, April 20, that he may lift his order for the mandatory wearing of face masks in government offices in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, soon.Escalante ordered the mandatory wearing of face masks on April 17 after the heads of a Cadiz City government department and a national office tested positive for COVID-19.It has been a week and none of the employees in the two offices have manifested COVID-19 symptoms, he said.“We are considering lifting the order in a week,” he said.*

Senator Risa Hontiveros*The appointment of Department of Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban as Sugar Regulatory Administration officer-in-charge is “the epitome of impunity”, Senator Risa Hontiveros said on Thursday, April 20.Malacañang on Wednesday announced the designation of Panganiban as OIC of the SRA following the resignation of its acting administrator David Alba.“Panganiban arrogated unto himself the powers of the Sugar Regulatory Administration, and now, instead of being punished, he is being rewarded by being appointed as its OIC,” Hontiveros said in a statement posted on the Senate website.For Malacañang and Panganiban, it appears that crime really does pay - it even rewards, she said.“In any other government, Panganiban would already be sus...

An ex-New People’s Army rebel was shot to death by his former comrades at the plaza in Sitio Jalandoon, Brgy. Carabalan, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 19, the police reported Thursday.Killed was Regie Gomes Soledad, 36, a laborer and resident of Sitio Cunalom, Brgy. Carabalan.The suspects are Dandy Rafael Salvador and Jun Jun Balsimo of Himamaylan City who are alleged NPA members, PLt. Col. Reynante Jomocan, Himamaylan police chief, said.Jomocan said Soledad and his wife had left the rebel movement and surrendered to government forces last year.The victim and his family were at the plaza where a fiesta was being celebrated when the suspects approached and without any provocation shot him on the head and on his back.After the incide...

Two New People’s Army rebels were killed and two government soldiers were injured in a series of encounters in Negros Occidental on Thursday, April 20.An unidentified rebel was killed and two government soldiers were injured in an encounter between the 79th Infantry (Masaligan) Battalion and NPA troops in Escalante City, at about 10:45 a.m., the 79IB reported.The government troops recovered an M-14 rifle, three rifle grenades, three 40mm grenades and personal belongings of the NPA rebels, it added.An NPA member was also killed in an encounter between the 94th Infantry Battalion and the NPA who engaged in a series of gunbattles at the boundary of Isabela and Binalbagan that started at 2:30 a.m., the Army also reported.An alleged rebel leader identified as Jose Albores Jr. wa...

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson holds up large mushrooms for sale at the Panaad sa Negros Festival.*Richard Malihan photoSales at the 27th Panaad sa Negros Festival at the Panaad Park and Stadium in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod City, hit P6,289,886 on the third day of the festivities, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Thursday, April 20.Sales at the local government unit pavilions totaled P4,098,779, food kiosks – P2,045,397, and the trade fair area – P145,710, he said.Total sales on Monday was P2,049,379, Tuesday – P1,946,697, and Wednesday P2,292,810.The festival will end on Sunday, April 23.*

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Thursday, April 20, said the legal process to formally designate Rep. Arnolfo Teves (N eg. Or., 3rd District) as a fugitive terrorist has been initiated.Remulla cited Teves’ refusal to return to the country to face accusations of his involvement in a series of high profile murders.“A person who is racked by guilt will not come out in public. Whatever he claims if he is not guilty, he should come out. If he is as innocent as he claims, he should face the accusations,” Remulla said.Pending charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives is sufficient to buttress the government’s plan to designate Teves a terrorist, the DOJ secretary said.Criminal charges in connection with the deaths in Negros Oriental dating back to 2019 ha...

Comelec Commissioner George Garcia *PNA photoThe Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday, April 20, said it will seriously consider the proposal to postpone the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in Negros Oriental in October amid the prevailing political tension in the province.Comelec chairperson George Garcia said the commission may or may not defer the upcoming polls in the province depending on the situation."It should be seriously and carefully studied by the Commission,” Garcia said in a radio interview in reaction to the proposal of Senator Francis Tolentino to defer the Barangay and SK elections in Negros Oriental amid the current peace and order situation in the province.The province is experiencing high political tension following the death of Negr...

Department of Education Regional Director Ramir Uytico *The Department of Education (DepEd) in Western Visayas will ensure that health measures and necessary protocols are observed during the 2023 Western Visayas Regional Athletics Association (WVRAA) meet where about 6,000 delegates and officials are expected to gather in the municipality of Makato in Aklan from April 26 to 30.“Our regional medical officer has been coordinating with medical officers in the divisions. Our health protocol stays,” DepEd Regional Director Ramir Uytico said in a virtual press conference on Thursday, April 20.Uytico said they will consider the possible provision of isolation rooms should there be a delegate who will manifest signs of COVID-19.It may be a room where participants can also rest whe...

The drainage project digging at Roxas Street in Barangay 39, Bacolod City, has led to what may be a pre-war tunnel made of orange bricks.A wheel of a calesa, a two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage, was also found at the site.The bricks bore the name “H de Jalandoni”.Councilor Jason Villarosa, chairperson of the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Tourism, said they are asking the National Historical Commission to look into the discovery to determine if preservation measures should be taken.It could be part of the history of Bacolod, he said.John Paul Marañon, a resident of the area, said they were told that a muscovado mill used to exist there in the past.He said bricks were also found when they were constructing their building near the recent discovery....