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Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz issued a show cause order on Tuesday, February 7, directing the former acting treasurer of Isabela town to explain the loss of government’s funds under her watch.Issued the show cause order was Cashier 1 Nenette Escarda who was directed to explain in writing, comment or submit an affidavit under oath within five days on why no criminal, civil and administrative cases should be filed against her.The show cause order noted that Escarda while acting municipal treasurer of Isabela, without authority from the mayor or national government, removed P2,600,000 in cash and P3,800,000 in checks from the Municipal Treasurer's Office of Isabela and brought them to her home in Bacolod City where they were allegedly lost.Based on an e...

Negros Occidental, Bacolod City, 10 component cities and 17 municipalities are 2022 Good Financial Housekeeping passers, the Department of the Interior and Local Government announced Tuesday, February 7.The component city passers are Bago, Cadiz, Sagay, Himamaylan, San Carlos, Kabankalan, Silay, La Carlota, Talisay, and Victorias, the DILG said.The municipalities that passed the 2022 Good Financial Housekeeping are Binalbagan, Hinoba-an, Calatrava, Ilog, Candoni, Isabela, Cauayan, Manapla, EB Magalona, Moises Padilla, Hinigaran, Murcia, Pontevedra, Pulupandan, Salvador Benedicto, San Enrique and Toboso.*

Negros Occidental Provincial Disaster Management Program Division head Zeaphard Caelian has sought permission to transfer to Silay City as assistant city assessor.The request has been approved by Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Tuesday, February 7.The transfer was supposed to take effect January 31 but because of the delay in the processing of requirements for the Silay post, Caelian asked for an extension on the effectivity of his transfer until the end of February.However, Caelian has taken a leave of absence to process the requirements.Lacson has yet to announce who will serve as the officer in charge of the PDMPD, although they already have somebody in mind, Diaz said.*

Kim Viray, JobStreet Philippines marketing head, at a press conference in Bacolod City on Tuesday.*JobStreet, an online job portal, will kick off its on-ground caravan in Bacolod City with week-long activities for both local employers and jobseekers from February 13 to 18.The initiative aims to bring more employers and jobseekers together as part of JobStreet’s commitment to boosting the labor market by going hyperlocal, Kim Viray, JobStreet Philippines marketing head, said at a press conference in Bacolod Tuesday, February 7.Through the JobStreet Caravan, applicants can join the Bacolod Career Fair, at SM Bacolod on February 18, where hundreds of jobs will be up for grabs, Gian Lorenzo Adato, its Hirer Marketing Lead, said.The activity will be joined by 30 employers such a...

The Philippine National police have identified the three alleged New People’s Army rebels killed in an encounter with the 94th Infantry Battalion in Sitio Bugne, Brgy. Oringao, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, on Saturday, February 4.The fatalities were identified as Diomedes Lasida, 70, of Pinggot, Ilog, and Jomarie Sabanal Calumba, 47, of Sitio Mugni, Barangay Oringao, Kabankalan City in Negros Occidental, and Jun Jun Pacheco Callete, 42, of Sitio Suhi, Barangay Tanlad, Tayasan, Negros Oriental.Leolita Calumba positively identified the cadaver of her husband, Jomarie Calumba, while Bebita Callet identified her son Jun Jun Callete, the police said.The 94th IB said they encountered 15 armed rebels in Oringao and three were killed in a 20-minute firefight.Recovered from t...

The body of Don Paulo Teves was found near a dumpster in Purok 3, Barangay Calayugan in Valencia.* PNP photoThree suspects, including a Danish national, were arrested following the murder of the brother of the mayor of Valencia, Negros Oriental, PMaj. Roger Quijano, Valencia police chief, said Tuesday, February 7.The body of Don Paulo Teves, 42, wrapped in a blanket and plastic bag was found near a dumpster in Purok 3, Barangay Calayugan in Valencia with a bullet wound on the left side of the head at 8:33 a.m. Monday, February 6.He is the younger brother of Mayor Edgar Teves Jr., and son of former Mayor Edgar Teves Sr.Arrested were Tim Moerch, 45, a Danish national temporarily residing in Valencia and his partner, Myla Ozoa Cagasan, 40, on Monday afternoon, and John Edward ...

Two Bacolod residents have been sentenced to life imprisonment for the sale of shabu to policemen.Bacolod Regional Trial Court Branch 52 Judge Raymond Joseph Javier sentenced Rolando Flamiano Bernabe and Danilo Carpentero to life terms on Friday, February 3.Bernabe was arrested for selling .141 gram of shabu to a police poseur buyer for P1,000 in Sitio Sibucao, Barangay Banago in Bacolod City on January 17, 2020. On his arrest 20.106 grams of shabu were recovered from him.He was sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of P500,000 for the sale of drugs, and to another life term and to pay a fine of P400,000 for possession of shabu.His co-accused Ma. Cristina Aguia was found not guilty of possession of shabu and acquitted.Carpentero was sentenced to life ...

Bacolod City General Services Officer Gilda Lluisma was reassigned to head the City Population Office.*Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez ordered the re-assignment of Bacolod City General Services Officer Gilda Lluisma, pending the evaluation report on 90 government vehicles that have not been found.City Legal Officer Romeo Carlos Ting Jr. confirmed on Tuesday, February 7, that Lluisma was reassigned to head the City Population Office.GSO Supply Officer IV Victor Espina will continue the onsite inspection and inventory of government vehicles that have not been found since the mayor ordered an ocular inspection on January 28.Out of 500 vehicles, including motorcycles, 197 are still serviceable and 108 are unserviceable.Ninety vehicles and motorcycles mostly assigned to the B...

Lawyer Ralph Sarmiento, former dean of the College of Law at the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City*A Bacolod lawyer will serve as a judge in the International Rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in Washington, D.C. in April.Lawyer Ralph Sarmiento, former dean of the College of Law at the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City, was selected as one of the five recipients of the inaugural Rusty Dalferes Memorial Fund to serve as a moot court judge.“I am grateful for the trust placed in me by the International Law Students Association (ILSA) and the Rusty Dalferes Memorial Fund Committee and I am thrilled to be a part of this prestigious event, especially as it marks the first in-person international rounds in four years,” Sarmiento ...