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Ruben Diamante (center, seated) and the PACE directors.*The Progressive Alliance of Capitol Employees executive board removed Renelo Lastierre as PACE chairman citing “loss of confidence” on Friday, July 21.Nine 9 of the 11 PACE board members at a special meeting on Friday, July 21, named Ruben Diamante, who had served as chairman of the union for three terms in the past, as Lastierre’s replacement.At the meeting they declared all PACE executive board positions vacant from the chairman to the sergeant at arms and elected a new set of officers, Diamante said.Elected were Diamante as chairman, Al Ceralbo – vice chairman, Merly Frio – secretary, Arnel Reyes – treasurer, Allen Decena – auditor, Victor Gutang – public information officer, and Venchito Magalona and Joseph Ryan Cu...

The New People’s Army (NPA) claimed the killing of a farmer in Brgy. Guba, Vallehermoso town, Negros Oriental, on Wednesday, July 19.The NPA’s Leonardo Panaligan Command, in a press statement, said Ricky Catubig, 40, of Brgy. Guba was executed based on a decision of their Revolutionary Court.The decision was reached because of Catubig’s involvement in extorting money from a farmer, killing a carabao, theft, and mauling his father-in-law that caused a head injury, the NPA claimed.The NPA also alleged Catubig owned an illegal firearm that came from an Army detachment near the area, which he used to threaten the residents in Brgy. Guba.*

City Agriculturist Goldwyn Nifras*Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has filed a formal charge for grave misconduct against the city agriculturist and preventively suspended him for 60 days effective Friday, July 21.City Agriculturist Goldwyn Nifras was charged for the unauthorized rental of a city government tractor that was donated by the Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization, without the issuance of receipts.Nifras denied that he rented out the tractor. Payments made by the farmers were for the operator of of the tractor,, not for rent, and it did not go to him, Nifras said.The city agriculturist said he will file an answer and denial to the allegations against him.The tractor was reportedly used by members of...

An alliance of workers’ groups in Negros Occidental is urging President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to focus on addressing the opposition to sugar import liberalization, the call for wage increases, and the International Criminal Court investigation into extra judicial killings in the country in his second State of the Nation Address on Monday, July 24.General Alliance of Workers Association secretary general Wennie Sancho said that these three concerns should be given preference by Marcos in his SONA for him to be remembered as a “dispenser of justice and defender of the poor and the oppressed.”A substantial wage increase for all workers in the private sector in Western Visayas should be at least P500 a day to prevent the continuing erosion of their purchasing power and for them to cope ...

The Diocesan Electoral Board (DEB) of the Diocese of Dumaguete, headed by Msgr. Julius Perpetuo Heruela (left), with DEB executive director Fred Magallano, and Emilie Capito.*Mary Judaline Partlow photoThe Diocesan Electoral Board (DEB) of the Diocese of Dumaguete calls for stricter measures to weed out nuisance candidates as the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) draw near.Msgr. Julius Perpetuo S. Heruela, DEB convenor, and Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) board member, on Friday, July 21, said a strategic planning and seminar-workshop on Saturday and Sunday will help the DEB review its policies and directions as a “volunteer election watchdog”.“We want to put in writing what we have been doing, particularly on volunteerism, and define or ...

Two police officers were injured when their patrol car fell and crashed into a vacant lot beside the highway in Basay town, Negros Oriental, Friday morning, July 21.Maj. Marcos Lopez, Basay Police Station chief, said the two police personnel were injured after the driver lost control of the vehicle.The victims were identified as Patrolman Bryan Earl Oville, driver of the patrol car, and Patrolwoman Jedeliza Andrade from the Basay Police Station, who sustained minor injuries.The patrol car was heading towards the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NOPPO) in Agan-an, Sibulan town, when the driver lost control of the vehicle after it overtook a tricycle, because of a slippery road.The victims were brought to the Bayawan City District Hospital and were subjected to CT sc...

Bacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon said on Friday, July 21, that with the death of Monsignor Guillermo “GG” Azcona Gaston the Diocese of Bacolod “lost one of its great pillars and patriarchs who have shaped the diocese into what it is today”.Gaston, 91, succumbed to cardiac arrest, on Thursday.Buzon said “It is with deep sadness that we bid goodbye to our dear Msgr.Guillermo Gaston”.“A man of many talents, Msgr. GG, as we fondly call him, served the diocese in various capacities as teacher, formator, liturgical artist, administrator and many others. But most of all, he is deeply revered as a true priest and zealous pastor of the Lord’s flock,” the bishop said.“We thank him most sincerely, as we pray that the Father receive him, his good steward and faithful son, to his eternal r...

An alleged New People’s Army (NPA) leader described as a notorious hitman and an unidentified rebel were killed in an encounter with government soldiers at Sitio Kawayanan, Brgy Montilla in Moises Padilla town, Negros Occidental, at 11:55 p.m. Thursday, July 20.Killed in the encounter between the 62nd Infantry Battalion soldiers and six NPA members were Marivic Ebarle, alias “Ivan”, commanding officer of a Section Guerilla Unit of Central Negros 1, and a still unidentified rebel, 1Lt. Mary Liza Joy de Guzman, 62IB civil-military operations officer, said Friday.The 62IB responded to information from residents on the presence of the rebels in Sitio Kawayanan, which resulted in a 15-minute firefight.Two NPA rebels were killed and their bodies were recovered, while two were wounded...

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson joined the 37th Founding Anniversary celebration of the 303rd Infantry Brigade on Thursday, July 20, and thanked the military officers and personnel for their selfless and courageous service in promoting peace and order in Negros Island.The governor, together with 303rd IB Commander, Brig. Gen. Orlando Edralin, led the wreath-laying ceremony at the Camp Major Nelson Gerona monument in Murcia, Negros Occidental.Lacson lauded the brigade for their excellent service, not only in line with promoting peace but also in times of disasters and calamities.“May God continue to bless and protect you, and may he sustain the gains of our endeavors for a more peaceful and progressive province,” he said.A Plaque of Appreciation was also given to ...

Monsignor Guillermo ‘GG’ Azcona Gaston.* Ronnie Baldonado photoMonsignor Guillermo ‘GG’ Azcona Gaston passed away at The Doctors Hospital in Bacolod City at 5:37. p.m. Thursday, July 20.Gaston, 91, succumbed to cardiac arrest, his nephew Joey Gaston said.He had been recuperating from a fall at his home at Hacienda Rosalia in Manapla in December.Gaston was ordained a priest in 1959, studied in Rome and was assigned to various parishes within the Diocese of Bacolod.He also served as rector of the San Sebastian Cathedral from 1985-1988 and 1991-1995.Joey Gaston said the venue and schedule of the memorial services for his uncle will be announced shortly.*