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A 72- hour TRO has been issued on the JVA signed by CENECO president Jojit Yap and PHI president and CEO Roel Castro on July 3.*A Bacolod Regional Trial Court judge on Thursday, June 29, issued a 72-hour temporary restraining order (TRO) on the Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO) and Primelectric Holdings Inc. (PHI) joint venture agreement and suspended its July 1 plebiscite.Bacolod RTC Branch 42 Judge Maria Lina Gonzaga granted the TRO following a motion for reconsideration filed by the lawyers of the petitioners Pepito Pico, Rommel Pido and Aaron Sorbito of the Negros Consumers Watch and the Anti-CENECO JVA Coalition.The petitioners are seeking the nullification of the JVA with application for the issuance of a Preliminary Injunction or TRO, and have named officials ...

The Negros Occidental provincial government is aiming to release cash assistance to more than 4,000 backyard hog raisers’ families whose pigs have died from various diseases by the first or second week of July, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said on Thursday, June 29.The Negros Occidental pig deaths from various diseases were at 15,036 or 9.94 percent of the province’s hog population causing total losses of P169,670,150, the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) reported Thursday.This has affected 3,049 hog raisers in 144 barangays in 18 towns and cities of Negros Occidental, the PVO added.Diaz said the list of recipients of the Capitol aid is being finalized.The provincial government has allocated P10M in assistance, and will give each affected family P2,000, Diaz sa...

Chiqui A. Gonzales was appointed provincial social welfare officer.*A new Negros Occidental provincial social welfare and development officer has be appointed but permanent heads of three departments have yet to be named.Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson has appointed Chiqui A. Gonzales permanent provincial social welfare officer, which will have to be concurred by the Negros Occidental Sangguniang Panlungsod, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Thursday, June 29.She served as a consultant at the Hinigaran local government and was a social welfare official of the short-lived Negros Island Region, Diaz said.Meanwhile, the resignation of Edmundo Raul Causing as head of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) will take effect at the end of July, Diaz said.He said ...

The scene of the crime in Talisay City.*Amado Donesa Jr. photoA rent-a-car driver was found dead inside a van in Hacienda Manaol, Brgy. Matab-ang, Talisay City, Thursday morning, June 29.The victim was identified as Brian Mark Agillo, 33, of Brgy. 36, Bacolod City, the police said.Initial investigation revealed that the victim had bullet wounds on his right temple and the back of his right ear.Unidentified gun cartridges were also recovered at the crime scene.The victim was discovered by a security guard while conducting his rounds.PLt. Abigail Donasco, Talisay police station deputy officer, said they are looking at the possibility that the victim was killed elsewhere and left in the area after, as nearby residents did not hear any gunshots the night before.Agil...

A video of an alleged thief burning a dove cage in front of a house inside a subdivision in Brgy. Alijis, Bacolod City, earlier this week, has gone viral.PCapt. Andy Ofalia, Bacolod City Police Station 7 chief, said on Thursday, June 29, that the homeowner reported the incident to the police and brought CCTV footage of the incident as evidence.In the CCTV video the suspect is caught burning the birdcage in an attempt to steal the dove inside, Ofalia said, adding that the suspect has confessed to doing it.The fire only burnt the plastic parts of the cage but the house was not damaged and no individuals were injured.The dove also survived the incident.The suspect was freed from the custody of the police after the reglementary period had passed for the filing of charges ag...

The drug bust in Brgy 35, Bacolod, Thursday morning.*BCPO photoThe police arrested six suspects and seized suspected shabu worth P294,800 in buy-bust operations in three cities and a town in Negros Occidental on Wednesday and Thursday, June 28 and 29.The Bacolod police arrested two persons and seized about 15 grams of suspected shabu estimated to cost P100,000 at Purok Mainabyanon, Brgy 35, Bacolod, 10:30 a.m. Thursday.Nabbed were John Paul Claro, 24, of Purok Cadena de Amor, Brgy 29, Bacolod, and his live-in partner Clarice Llena Jose, 30, of Purok Kakahuyan, Brgy Daga Cadiz City, the Bacolod police reported.Two suspects also fell and 15 grams of suspected shabu estimated to cost P120,000 were seized in Brgy. Robles, La Castellana town, Thursday.Nabbed were drivers Jes...

A boiler operator of a sugar refinery was mauled to death by unidentified suspects at a convenience store in Brgy. Poblacion, Bago City, Negros Occidental, early Thursday morning, June 29.Roggie Mar Tiolo, 47, a boiler operator of Victorias Milling Company from Brgy. Zone 6, Pulupandan town, Negros Occidental, was mauled by four unidentified individuals at a convenience store in the Poblacion area of Bago, the police reported.Tiolo and his brother were having a drinking session in front of the convenience store, when a tricycle with six passengers arrived. Four of the passengers approached Tiolo and mauled him, the police report said.The suspects immediately fled on the tricycle while the victim was brought to Bago City Hospital where he was declared dead.The Bago police ar...

Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito*Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito said on Thursday, June 29, that government should conduct consultations and act with caution on the proposed import liberalization of sugar.Sugar industry stakeholders on Tuesday, June 27, called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who concurrently serves as Secretary of Agriculture, to deny Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno’s proposal to liberalize sugar importation, saying it will destabilize the livelihood of thousands of marginal sugarcane farmers.The proposal was intended to soften the impact of new taxes on food and beverages that contain sugar, Ejercito said.However, “I believe that we should take caution in rushing this proposal. Further consultations and dialogs need to take place to address the deluge of...

A man was found lifeless after he drowned in a river at Sitio Malusay, Brgy. Caradio-an, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, Wednesday, June 28.The victim was identified as Niel Villavecencio, 51, of Brgy. 1, Himamaylan City.The Himamaylan Rescue Team conducted a search and rescue operation and found the unconscious victim lying on the riverbank.The rescuers conducted CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on the victim but he was unresponsive and had no signs of life, the police reported.*

The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) in cooperation with the office of Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) , will bring “Sayaw Tanan!”, the Alice Reyes Dance Philippines (ARDP) 2023 Visayan Tour, to the cities of Bacolod and Victorias on July 8 and 9.Featuring the best of ARDP and the CCPs Professional Artist Support Program, the ARDP Dance Workshop will be held at the Victorias City Coliseum at 3 p.m. July 8. The ARDP performance, “Sayaw Tanan”, at the University of St. La Salle Coliseum in Bacolod City will be at 5 p.m. July 9, a press release from the congressman’s office said.Both events are for free. The Victorias Dance Workshop requires pre-registration and those interested may contact Trisha Romero 09185549232, the press release said.National ...