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The police arrested two suspects and seized suspected shabu worth about P25,000 in buy-bust operations in Isabela town and Victorias City, Negros Occidental, on Monday, June 12.Albert Mahinay, alias “Dondon”, 23, was arrested in a buy-bust operation in Victorias City.Seized from him were three grams of suspected shabu with an estimated value of P20,400, the police said.The suspect is now detained at the Victorias Police Station.Meanwhile, Argie Dela Cruz, 40, of Brgy. Mansablay was arrested in a buy-bust operation in Isabela town, the police said.Recovered from him was 0.37 gram of suspected shabu worth P2,516, the police said.De la Cruz is detained at the Isabela Police Station.*

A man accused of murder was found dead beside the river in Brgy. Bacuyangan, Hinobaan town, Negros Occidental, Monday morning, June 12, the police reported.Jerry Del Carmen, alias “Pinok”, 28, of Brgy. Bacuyangan was hacked in the neck and head by unidentified suspects.Danilo Noquira, 33, of Brgy. San Rafael was on his way to his rice farm when he saw the lifeless victim and informed the barangay officials.Hinobaan Police Chief, P/Maj. Ramel Bustamante, told DIGICAST NEGROS that the victim was accused of murder for hacking an individual in April last year but was granted probationary dismissal in September.Del Carmen had been dead for about six to eight hours when his body was discovered, Bustamante said.An investigation is still ongoing to determine the identity of Del...

Permission to add four days more for the plebiscite on the Central Negros Electric Cooperative and Primelectric Holdings Inc. (PHI) joint venture agreement is being sought, CENECO Acting General Manager Arnel Lapore said on Tuesday, June 13.The plebiscite dates for CENECO consumer-members to enter their yes or no votes to the JVA are June 24 and 25 and July 1 and 2.However, there have been requests to extend the voting period for two to four days more to give member-consumers a wider opportunity to vote, Lapore said.It is also a request made by Rep. Stephen Paduano (Abang Lingkod Partylist), he said.The CENECO franchise area covers Bacolod, Silay, Talisay and Bago cities and the municipalities of Salvador Benedicto and Murcia in Negros Occidental.CENECO has 210,000 memb...

The pig deaths in San Enrique were 2,671 or 99.22 percent of the town’s former total pig population .*Richard Malihan photo“A lot of our pigs were immunized against hog cholera yet almost all of them died so I doubt that it was only hog cholera that caused their deaths,” San Enrique Mayor Jilson Tubillara said on Monday, June 12.Almost the entire pig population in San Enrique town in Negros Occidental have been wiped out by hog diseases, the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) reported.The pig deaths in San Enrique were 2,671 or 99.22 percent of the town’s former total pigpopulation of 2,692, the PVO reported.Initial laboratory tests conducted by the PVO showed that the San Enrique pigs were hit with hog cholera, Tubillara said.Most of the San Enrique pigs were insur...

The highly contagious and deadly African Swine Fever (ASF) has hit pigs in barangays Guinhalaran and Patag, Silay City Mayor Joedith Gallego said on Monday, June 12.Gallego said the two barangays were locked down after the two ASF positive test results were released by the Department of Agriculture Region 6 office.No pigs and pork products are allowed to leave or enter the two barangays to prevent the spread of the disease, Gallego said.Silay is the fourth local government unit in Negros Occidental with ASF positive cases.ASF positive pigs had also been detected in Bacolod and Victorias cities and Pulupandan town earlier.However, Negros Occidental has not been declared an ASF red zone since only a few areas have ASF positive cases, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said.The ...

The Philippine Independence Day program at the Provincial Capitol Park and Lagoon in Bacolod City Monday.*Richard Mailhan photo“Let us work together to create a society in which no Filipino is left behind and that every individual has the freedom, due to equal opportunities to achieve personal advancement and contribute to the progress of our country,” Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said Monday, June 12.Lacson, who spoke at the 125th Philippine Independence Day rites at the Capitol Park and Lagoon in Bacolod City, said Independence Day is more than just a date on the calendar, “it is a consistent reminder of our solemn duty to preserve our liberty, promote inclusive development, and work for the betterment of the lives of all Filipinos.”To achieve these objectives, ...

Some of the Kalayaan Job Fair applicants on Monday.*Barbara Mijares photoSeventy seven Negrenses were hired on the spot for local jobs and one for overseas employment at the 2023 Kalayaan Job Fair at SM City Bacolod on Philippine Independence Day, Monday, June 12.The total registered jobseekers were 1,414 of which 598 were male and 816 were female, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) records showed.There were 8,021 local jobs, and 1,213 overseas jobs available at the Kalayaan Job Fair.*

Glenn Cahaponon’s body was brought to shore by Philippine Coast Guard personnel.*PCG photoA security guard was found dead at sea after he drowned and was carried by strong current two miles away from the Sibucao shoreline in Brgy. Banago, Bacolod City, on Monday, June 12.Glenn Cahaponon, 36, from Brgy. 1, Bacolod City, drowned near the shore of Sitio Sibucao after he went boating with two other persons on a motorized banca on June 11, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)-Bacolod office reported.Cahaponon’s companions, Ernesto Roque of Brgy. Banago and Brian Jason Sabio of Brgy. 1, said he turned off the boat’s engine and went for a swim but was carried away by the strong current.His companions then sought the help of PCG.After a day of search and rescue operations, Cahapono...

CAJDEN Executive Director Ma. Lina Ganaban*Non-government child labor watch group, Christian Advocates for Justice and Development in Negros Inc. (CAJDEN), has recorded about 3,000 child labor incidents in Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City.CAJDEN Executive Director Ma. Lina Ganaban in an interview Monday, June 12, said their organization has profiled about 3,000 child laborers in the province from 2017 to 2020.This profiling was conducted in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment, she said.These child laborers work in sugar farms, wet markets, as jeepney barkers, and some even engage in illegal drugs that make them even more vulnerable to sexual abuse, she said.She said poverty is the main enabler of child exploitation and trafficking and the go...