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A farmer was shot dead by his brother-in-law in Brgy. Tampalon, Kabakalan City, Negros Occidental, Tuesday morning, June 27, the police reported Wednesday.Glenn Panganiban, 41, of Purok Paghidaet, Brgy. Tampalon, was shot by Glenn Sedayon, 40, about 11 a.m. on June 27, the police said.The victim was drunk and tried to assault the suspect which triggered a heated argument.The suspect then drew a gun and shot the victim, the police reported.PCapt. Thurslie Castillo, Kabankalan deputy police chief, said that the victim was shot in the thigh, which caused loss of blood resulting in his death.The police are still looking for the suspect but the family is not interested in filing charges against him, Castillo said.*

The Department of Energy (DOE) announced on Wednesday, June 28, that 68 indicative renewable energy (RE) projects with a potential capacity of 14,245 megawatts are being eyed in Western Visayas, while 29 projects are already operating with an installed capacity of 708 megawatts.Engineer Gaspar Escobar Jr., chief of the Technical Services and Management Division of the Renewable Energy Management Bureau, said that of the 68 projects, 24 are for hydropower, 17 for offshore wind, 14 for solar, 12 for onshore wind, and one for geothermal.In a press conference ahead of the 2023 Investment Forum on Renewable Energy at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, Escobar said the DOE continues to study programs and policies for the high integration of renewable energy in the power mix.Energy Unde...

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson has approved the fourth tranche salary increase of the 3,237 Negros Occidental provincial government employees effective July 1, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Wednesday, June 28.Lacson asked the Negros Occidental Sangguniang Panlalawigan through Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer for authority to implement the fourth tranche modified salary schedule effective July 1 pursuant to Section 5.0 of the Local Budget Circular No. 149 of the Department of Budget and Management.A total of P30.1 million will be allocated for the pay hikes needed from July to December, Diaz said.He said an additional P28,176,892 for the pay increases of the 3,182 provincial government employees and P1,952,019 for 55 Economic Enterprise Development Department workers will be al...

Edmundo Raul Causing*The Negros Occidental provincial agriculturists has resigned.The resignation of Edmundo Raul Causing as head of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist was confirmed by Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz on Wednesday, June 28.Cuasing cited health reasons for his resignation.The governor is expected to appoint an officer-in-charge in his place stating August 1, a source said.Causing was the former Agribusiness Department chairperson of the University of Saint La Salle.He was appointed provincial agriculturist in February 2022.*

Negros Oriental acting police provincial director Col. Alex Recinto (left) on Tuesday prepares his security briefing during a coordinating conference on the deferment of the Barangay and SK elections at the PNP Regional Office in Sibulan town.*Judy Flores Partlow/PNA photoThe Philippine National Police (PNP) in Negros Oriental is keeping a close eye on an alleged private armed group (PAG) in the province as law enforcement authorities step up security for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE).Acting police provincial director Col. Alex Recinto said on Wednesday, June 28, that the supposed private armed group is still active despite the arrest of its purported leader earlier this year.“Although this group has already been neutralized following the arrest of thei...

Rescuers carrying the body of the 12-year-old child who drowned.*Talisay Fire Station photoThe body of a grade six student was found on Wednesday, June 28, almost 20 hours after she drowned in the Matab-ang River in Talisay City, Negros Occidental.The 12-year-old student from Brgy. Bata, Bacolod City, drowned Tuesday afternoon, Talisay City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Geoffrey Gutierrez said.The search and rescue operation led by members of the Talisay DRRMO, Bureau of Fire Protection, and the Philippine Coast Guard began at 3 p.m. Tuesday and at about 11 a.m. Wednesday, the victim was found in Hacienda Sta. Maria 1, Brgy. Zone 15, Talisay City, about three kilometers away from the place of the incident.Rowela Delagao, the mother of the victim, said her c...

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez (3rd from left) presiding over the second quarter Regional Development Council meeting.*Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez underscored the 9.3 percent economic growth rate of Western Visayas in 2022 in his State of the Region Address (SORA) during the Regional Development Council (RDC) meeting in Iloilo City Wednesday, June 28.“The year 2022 ended with the economy of Western Visayas posting an economic growth of 9.3 percent, valued at P955 billion at constant 2018 prices. This augurs well for 2023 as the target of P986.75 billion appears achievable,” Benitez, RDC 6 chairman, said.The SORA spelled out the performance of the various sectors of the economy.Western Visayas posted the highest growth rate among all the regions in...

The police arrested a street-level individual in a buy-bust operation and seized P102,000 worth of suspected shabu in Brgy. 28, Bacolod City, on Tuesday evening, June 27.Lyle Infante, 37, of Purok Kawayan, Brgy. 28, Bacolod City, was arrested in a buy-bust operation led by Police Station 6 operatives, the police reported.The police confiscated three sachets of suspected shabu weighing 15 grams with an estimated street value of P102,000.A pouch, digital weighing scale, and cellphone were also recovered from the suspect, the report added.*

The anti-vaping campaigners at the Bacolod City Government Center lobby Wednesday*“Say no to tobacco and vape smoking.”That was the call of members of the Philippine College of Chest Physicians (PCCP) - Negros Chapter, other medical societies and the Bacolod Anti-Smoking Task Force, who held a motorcade and signed a unified statement against vaping at the Bacolod City Government Center lobby Wednesday, June 28.They consider E-cigarettes harmful and do not recommend their use, Dr. Ronel Sario, PCCP – Negros vice president and national chairman of the World No Tobacco Day Advocacy, said.PCCP unequivocally supports the Vaping Ban, and urges the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prohibit the e-cigarette companies from promoting their product as a less harmful and...