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A PDEA K-9 dog sniffing for drugs.*PDEA6 photoThe drug-cleared barangays in Western Visayas have hit 90.25 percent, with Bacolod City still the lowest performer at 22.95 percent, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported Wednesday, July 14.The topnotchers are Aklan and Guimaras with drug cleared barangays at 100 percent, followed by Antique at 99.66 percent, Iloilo province - 98.55 percent, Capiz – 91.12 percent, Negros Occidental – 67.89 percent and Iloilo City – 52.22 percent, the PDEA reported during the Regional Peace and Order Council meeting at the Negros Residences in Bacolod City,The report also said that P87.22 million in illegal drugs have been seized in Western Visayas from January 1 to May 31.Iloilo City had the highest amount of drugs seized at P29...

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson (2nd from left) presides over the Regional Peace and Order Council meeting attended by PBrig. Gen. Sidney Villaflor - PNP Western Visayas regional director, Regional Director Juan Jovian Ingeniero of the Department of the Interior and Local Government 6 and Col. Orlando D. Edralin - 303rd Infantry Brigade commander (l-r).*The Philippine National Police is monitoring three potential private armed groups in Negros Occidental as the October 30 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) near.This was disclosed in a PNP report on the peace and order situation in preparation for the BSKE during the 2nd quarter Regional Peace and Order Council meeting chaired by Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson at the Negros Residences in Bacolod City Wednesday morning, June 14....

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has declared June 28 as a regular holiday nationwide in observance of Eid’l Adha or the Feast of Sacrifice.Marcos signed Proclamation 258 on Tuesday for the declaration of the holiday all throughout the country.A copy of the proclamation was made public on Wednesday.Eid’l Adha has been usually declared regular holiday upon the recommendation of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos.Eid’l Adha is the second of two holidays Muslim holidays celebrated by Muslims around the world and is considered holier than Eid'l Fitr.In the Philippines, Muslim Filipinos comprise about 6 percent of the population.Republic Act (RA) 9849 states that Eid’l Adha shall be celebrated as a regular holiday.According to RA 9849, the declaration of Ei...

Col. Orlando D. Edralin, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, at the Regional Peace and Order Council meeting at the Negros Residences in Bacolod City on Wednesday.*The Philippine Army expects to neutralize two Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) fronts in central Negros before the end of the year.They are very optimistic that with the cooperation and assistance of residents, and the national and local governments, before the year ends they will be declaring the Central Negros 1 and 2 fronts as cleared, Col. Orlando D. Edralin, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, said Wednesday, June 14.Two NPA rebels were killed in a series of encounters with the with 62nd Infantry Battalion (62IB) soldiers in Brgy Macagahay, Moises Padilla in Negros Occidental on Tuesday...

The items seized from the encounter site.*Two Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army rebels were killed in a series of encounters with the Army's 62nd Infantry Battalion in Barangay Macagahay, Moises Padilla town in Negros Occidental on Tuesday, June 13, the 303rd Infantry Brigade reported.The 62nd Infantry Battalion soldiers, acting on information from a civilian, launched combat operations and encountered about six remnants of the NPA at Brgy Macagahay, which resulted in an about 20-minute firefight.As the rebels attempted to escape, another 15-minute firefight ensued when they encountered the blocking troops of 62IB at Sitio Cupad in Barangay Macagahay. Another platoon of the 62IB also engaged the retreating rebels in a third clash in Sitio Mantauyan, also in B...

Mayor Janice Degamo (center) of Pamplona town, Negros Oriental, faces the media after a preliminary investigation at the Department of Justice in Manila on Tuesday, June 13, on the assassination of her husband, Governor Roel Degamo.*The camp of slain Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo has produced DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) samples that confirm the identities of at least four of the government's primary suspects in the March 4 attack in Pamplona town.Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Remulla told reporters on Tuesday, June 13, during the preliminary investigation that the blood samples were collected from the crime scene and vehicles reportedly used to ferry the suspects, including a helicopter.Degamo counsel Levito Baligod said the samples were matches for suspect...

San Miguel Corp. has expressed interest in investing the in the bulk water project of Negros Occidental, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Tuesday, June 13.That means there are now four companies interested, he said.SMC officials have asked for a meeting to determine the possibility of their joining the bidding of the bulk water project, Diaz said.The bulk water consultants will present their feasibility study to Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson on June 19, Diaz said.The presentation will be attended by the technical working group of the province, he added.The presentation will give specifics on the site of the project and its cost, he said.The bulk water project will provide safe potable water for Negrenses, Diaz added.*

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson has approved the release of financial aid to backyard hog raisers whose pigs have died from various diseases, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Tuesday, June 13.The provincial government is allocating an initial P10 million, and families whose backyard pigs have died will be given P2,000 each, Diaz said.If the P10 million is depleted additional funds will be allocated, he added.The provincial government is also distributing free range chickens as an alternative source of livelihood for the pig raisers, Diaz said.The Incident Management Team will set the policy on who the priority recipients will be, he said, adding that farmers who violated biosecurity rules will not be covered.The assistance will be released as soon...

The Negros Occidental fattened hogs for shipment to other parts of the country.*Negros Occidental shipped out 13,379 fattened hogs to Luzon and Visayas provinces from May 1 to June 9 amid the biosecurity threats besetting the local swine industry, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Tuesday, June 13.He said 10,018 fattened hogs were shipped out in May and 3,361 from June 1 to 9.These shipments were arranged and facilitated by the Provincial Veterinary Office after the pigs were found to be healthy and issued Veterinary Health Certificates to help the swine raisers, Diaz said.Meanwhile, Escalante City has stepped up its biosecurity measures on swine transboundary diseases.A meeting with the Provincial Veterinary Office District Field Unit I veterinarian, Dr. Tis...

Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson (center) flanked by councilors Jason Villarosa and Em Ang, and the Bacolod delegation at the Long Beach City Hall.*The reinstating of the sister-city relationship between Bacolod City and Long Beach, California in the Unites States is in the works.Bacolod councilors Em Ang and Jason Villarosa, who head the delegation of MassKara dancers who performed in Long Beach during the weekend, met with Mayor Rex Richardson at the Long Beach City Hall on Monday, June 12.Richardson wants to proceed with the sister-city reinstatement, Ang said.Ang said she and Villarosa will be working on the requirements such as the passage of a Sangguniang Panlungsod resolution on the reinstatement of the sister-city relationship.The Sister Cities Board of Long Beac...