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A team from NONECO picking up the 15MVA transformer from the Negros First CyberCenter in Bacolod City on Friday.*NONECO photoThe Northern Negros Electric Cooperative is warning the public against fake news circulating on social media stating that the blackout in EB Magalona, Victorias City and a portion of Manapla, which was on its fourth day on Friday, would last until September 10 or until further notice.“Contrary to rumors on social media, there is no confirmed end date for the power outage. The certification letter that states the power interruption will be up to September 10, 2023 or until further notice is false information,” Victorias Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez also said on Friday, September 1.Ma. Dorothy Evangelista, NONECO OIC general manager, said they are conducting...

The DOH 6 leptospirosis report for Western Visayas.*The suspected leptospirosis cases in Bacolod City have increased by 205 percent, while the cases in Negros Occidental dropped by 8 percent, the Department of Health in Western Visayas reported on Friday, September 1.The DOH 6 report covering January 1 to August 19 showed that Bacolod City had 64 suspected leptospirosis cases and 11 deaths this year compared to 21 cases and 5 deaths last year.The suspected leptospirosis cases in Negros Occidental were 95 with 11 deaths this year compared to 103 cases and 23 deaths last year, the report also showed.The DOH 6 also reported that this year the dengue cases in Negros Occidental dropped by 82 percent and in Bacolod City by 51 percent.It said Negros Occidental’s dengue cases t...

Enrollment in the Negros Occidental Schools Division has dropped by 16 percent, its spokesperson Ian Arnold Arnaez said on Friday, September 1.Their quick count data shows that 294,000 have enrolled for school year 2023 to 2024, which is 16 percent lower than the 337,000 in school year 2022-2023, Arnaez said.However, the number of enrollees could increase next week, he added.He said face-to-face classes in public schools failed to start on Tuesday, August 29, because of the cancellation of classes for most of the week because of heavy rains and flooding brought on by Typhoon Goring.He said 37 schools in the division were flooded.Classes will resume in all schools in the division on Monday, September 4, he said.Classes in public schools in Bacolod City, which were ca...

Central Negros Electric Cooperative has signed a 10-year power supply agreement with First Gen, one of the leading providers of clean and renewable power in the Philippines, CENECO announced on Friday, September 1.The signing on August 8 the conclusion of the Competitive Selection Process on the procurement of the cooperative’s 20 megawatts (MW) baseload power supply requirement conducted by the CENECO Third Party Bids and Awards Committee, a press release from the cooperative said.Under the agreement, First Gen through its subsidiary, Energy Development Corporation, will provide 20 MW of power supply sourced from renewable energy resources to CENECO from 2023 to 2033.CENECO’s partnership with First Gen will provide affordable, clean and reliable energy to its consumers, the pr...

The 49th Regional Oversight Committee deliberation on Thursday.*The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) declared 26 barangays in Western Visayas drug cleared, 21 of which are in Negros Occidental, on Thursday, August 31.Personnel of PDEA-VI led by Acting Regional Director Melvin Suarez Seroquel with Assistant Regional Director Marjorie V. Ballesteros spearheaded the 49th Regional Oversight Committee Deliberation on the Barangay Drug Clearing Program in Iloilo City.The 21 barangays declared drug cleared in Negros Occidental are: Poblacion in Bago City, Paglaum in Binalbagan, 3 Poblacion and Alicante in EB Magalona, Sta. Rosa in Murcia, Poblacion 1, 2 and 3 in Pontevedra;Lopez Jaena, Rafael Barrera and Taba-ao in Sagay City, Punao in San Carlos City, Poblacion 1 and 2 i...

The 2.4-hectare Northill Parade will feature a diverse roster of food and retail concepts, including standout international casual dining brands from The Bistro Group.*Megaworld Lifestyle Malls unveiled its redesigned masterplan for Northill Parade, its retail and commercial development set to rise within the 53-hectare Northill Gateway township along the Bacolod-Silay Airport Access Road, at rites held on Friday, September 1.The 2.4-hectare Northill Parade set to open next year is a free-standing retail development concept that features a 1.1-hectare total leasable area, Graham M. Coates, head of Megaworld Lifestyle Malls, the retail and commercial arm of property giant Megaworld.Aside from retail and dining establishments, the remainder of the space will be allotted to open s...

A father and his four sons allegedly stabbed a laborer after a commotion in a videoke bar at Sitio Tiguisan, Brgy. Montilla, Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, Thursday night, August 31.Manuel Tobias, 22, a laborer from Sitio Tiguisan , was killed after he was allegedly stabbed by Alberto Niepes, 50, and his sons Ronel, Robert, Rey, and Rodel.Moises Padilla Police Chief, Maj. Joevito Bose, told DIGICAST NEGROS that the suspects and the victim had a heated argument in a videoke bar.The victim and his wife returned to their house but were followed by the suspects, he added.Bose said that the suspects called the victim to come out of his house used to talk but it ended in a commotion where they stabbed the victim.The police chief said that the victim was fatally stabbed in...

A 63-year-old government employee was shot to death by an unidentified suspect in Brgy. Palampas, San Carlos City, Thursday afternoon, August 31.Antonio Abuyo, 63, a government employee from Brgy. Palampas was shot by an unidentified person along the barangay’s Vasconia Road, the police reported.Investigation revealed that the victim was driving his motorcycle on his way home when the suspect waylaid him and shot his head and back resulting in his death.The police recovered one fired cartridge and one live ammunition of a .45 caliber pistol from the crime scene.The suspect fled after the shooting incident, the police said.*

The buy-bust operation in Brgy. Vista Alegre, Bacolod City.*BCPO photoThe police seized P1.7 million worth of suspected shabu in a buy-bust operation in Brgy. Vista Alegre, Bacolod City, 2:48 a.m. Friday, September 1.Arrested was Justine Gayoso, 27, for alleged possession of 253 grams of suspected shabu valued at P1,720,400 in a buy-bust operation in Purok Progreso Village II in Vista Alegre, the police reported.The police tagged Gayoso as an alleged member of the Derla Drug Group, and said he was listed as a “regional priority”.In 2017, the suspect was arrested for violation of Republic Act 9167 and was released following a plea bargaining agreement in 2020.The buy-bust operation was led by the Bacolod City Police Office-City Drug Enforcement Unit under their case oper...

CaSaMa officials led by Rep. Alfredo Marañon III and Cadiz City Mayor Manuel Escalante Jr. with DICT Undersecretary Jocelle Batapa-Sigue and other participants of the Digital Careers Expo 2023 held in Cadiz City.*Cadiz City PIO photoCadiz City hosted the Digital Careers Expo 2023 of the Department of Information, Communications and Technology (DICT) on Friday, September 1.Held at the Cadiz City Arena, the activity was aimed at inculcating in the minds of the youth that digitalization is now a new way of thinking, a press release from Cadiz City said.The event themed "Accelerating global digital opportunities for Filipino talents" gathered hundreds of senior high school and college students from Cadiz, Sagay and Manapla (CaSaMa) in the 2nd District of Negros Occidental.Leadi...