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Traditional and modern passenger jeepneys in Bacolod are taking part in the simulation exercise.*PNA photoAbout 1,600 traditional and modernized passenger jeepneys are taking part in a three-day simulation exercise (simex) that will run until Tuesday, June 27, to determine the effectivity of the Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) for the Public Utility Jeepney Modernization Program (PUVMP).These include more than 1,000 traditional jeepneys with provisional authority to operate and 555 modern jeepney units currently plying various routes.City Administrator Pacifico Maghari III said on Monday that representatives from the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and Land Transportation Office (LTO) are in the city to...

More Badjao gypsies have been “rescued” from the streets of Bacolod City and will be sent back to Mindanao.The 72 Badjaos sent from Iloilo to Bacolod on Saturday arrived in Pili, Zamboanga del Sur, Monday afternoon, Sally Abelarde, Bacolod Department of Social Services and Development head, said.She said Department of Social Welfare and Development personnel in Pili were assisting the Badjaos who are headed for Jolo, Sulu.Abelarde said 38 more Badjaos have been rescued from Bacolod City's streets and are now staying at the youth home in Barangay Vista Alegre for processing before being sent back to their hometowns.A controversy over the Badjaos erupted on Friday when Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas declared Bacolod Acting Mayor El Cid Familiaran persona non grata for the arr...

The pigpen where Junelyn Aligada's body was found.*PNP photoA mother who was previously jailed for drugs was found lifeless in a pigpen in Purok Pilit Dos, Brgy. 6, Bacolod City, Monday morning, June 26, the police said.Junelyn Aligada sustained multiple gunshot wounds.The police are still investigating the cause of the incident.PCapt. Vincent Paul Pendon, Police Station 2 cop chief, said scene of the crime operatives were still processing their initial findings.Aligada was formerly sentenced due to involvement in illegal drugs but was freed in 2018, Pendon said.She was caught again by the police in August last year together with her son, Ivan, but was freed because she was not directly involved in the operation, Pendon added.Her son was also recently freed from...

The burning bus in Bago City on Monday.*BFP photoA Ceres bus caught fire along the highway in Bago City, Negros Occidental, early Monday morning, June 26.Bago City Fire Station Senior Fire Officer 1 Reggie Juanola told DIGICAST NEGROS that the bus was going to Bacolod City when the driver, Rene Macabuyag Jr., smelled a burnt wire.The driver immediately parked on the side of the road and told everyone to get off the vehicle.The bus that was travelling from Hinigaran town was carrying 35 passengers.The fire destroyed the bus but its passengers, driver and conductor did not suffer any injuries.The Bureau of Fire Protection-Bago is still investigating the cause of the fire, Juanola said.*

Complainants in the cases filed in relation to the assassination of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo leave for Manila on Monday.*PNA photoOnly complainants in the Pamplona, Negros Oriental, massacre where Gov. Roel Degamo was killed along with nine others will be attending the second preliminary investigation of the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday, June 27.The slain governor’s widow, Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, and 28 others, left Dumaguete for Manila Monday on board a C-130 Philippine Air Force aircraft.DOJ will hold its second preliminary investigation in relation to the case for multiple murders, multiple frustrated murders, and multiple attempted murders under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code, with respondents identified by the DOJ as suspended Rep. Arnolfo Te...

The Badjaos on a vessel back to Bacolod on Saturday,*Mayor Jerry Treñas FB page photoThe controversial street-dwelling Badjaos, who were sent back to Bacolod City on Saturday, were on their way to Zamboanga via Dumaguete City on Sunday, June 25.Iloilo Mayor Jerry Treñas declared Acting Bacolod Mayor El Cid Familiaran persona non grata on Friday for the “uncoordinated and poorly planned” transfer of 80 Badjaos who arrived in his city on Wednesday, June 21.The 80 Badjaos from Bacolod disembarked at the Dumangas Port in Iloilo instead of continuing their journey to Mindanao as was intended because of coordination lapses by the city social welfare personnel, Familiaran said.Treñas said 74 of the Badjaos were transported back to Bacolod City from Dumangas on Saturday.“Proper...

The number of pig deaths hit 10.8 percent of the Negros Occidental’s hog population on Sunday, June 25, a Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) report said.The total fatalities on Sunday were 14,430 pigs causing losses of P162,607,500, the PVO reported.There were 142 new pig deaths on Saturday and 126 on Sunday.The hog raisers affected are 2,882 in 142 barangays in 17 out of 31 local government units in Negros Occidental.*

The majority voted yes to the Central Negros Electric Cooperative and Primelectric Holdings Inc. joint venture agreement in the first two days of the JVA plebiscite held Saturday and Sunday, June 24 and 25.There was a 27,741 turnout of CENECO member-consumer voters and 21,674 or 78 percent voted yes to the JVA while 6,067 or 22 percent voted no, the Overall Plebiscite Committee chaired by Eduardo Padios reported Sunday night.CENECO has 192,188 eligible voters.There are four more plebiscite voting dates set on July 1 and 2 and July 8 and 9.Judge Maria Lina Gonzaga of the Bacolod Regional Trial Court Branch 42 on Thursday denied the petition for a temporary restraining order on the JVA filed by Pepito Pico, Rommel Pido and Aaron Sorbito as representatives of the Negros Consum...