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The two missing boys*A Bacolod resident is searching for her two young sons who have not returned home since Sunday night, May 7.Mervelyn C. Niñal is appealing to whoever may have spotted her sons to call her at 0981-2118-034.She said her sons are Gian Miguel, 13, and John Paul, 10.They disappeared on Sunday after she had scolded one of them, and are believed to have gone with a 13-year-old friend known for having ran away from home several times in the past, Niñal said.Niñal, who works at the Saint Ezekiel Moreno Health Center in Barangay Handumanan run by the Siervas de Maria nuns, said she is appealing her sons to come home because she loves them.“We may be poor but we are a family and should stay together,” she said.Her husband, Jason, is a construction work...

Flooding in Bacolod during heavy rain last week*Mayor Alfredo Abelado Benitez said on Monday, May 8, that he has directed the City Engineer’s Office to present to him a blueprint of all the drainages in Bacolod City within a week.The mayor issued the order following the recent flooding that hit the city during heavy rains.Benitez said he directed the city engineer to present an integrated blue print with the Department of Public Works and Highways.The CEO and DPWH need to synchronize their drainage work, he said.Meanwhile, the Bacolod Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office has started clearing the Mambuloc Creek of debris to allow the exit of water to prevent floods, Benitez said.About 100 informal settler families in the Mambuloc Creek danger zone also need to b...

More Bacolod City government employees are under investigation for various offenses, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said Monday, May 8.The mayor recently dismissed Ramel Palalon, Department of Public Services (DPS) head, from the service for nine counts of grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty.He allegedly availed of gasoline from the city government nine times for the alleged use of a city government bulldozer that does not work.Palalon has the option to file a motion for reconsideration or appeal, City Legal Officer Romeo Carlos Ting Jr. said.The mayor withheld the names of the other city employees under investigation pending the results, he said.This is to accord them due process, he said.He stressed the need for city employees to follow the rules to avoid f...

Fredelino Cafe Jr. *A man who survived the gruesome massacre in Pamplona, Negros Oriental, where Gov. Roel Degamo and eight others were killed has died due to gunshot wound infections and complications.Provincial Health Officer Dr. Liland Estacion told the Philippine News Agency on Monday, May 8, that Fredelino Cafe Jr. succumbed to sepsis on Sunday, two weeks after his last admission to the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital (NOPH) in Dumaguete City.“He developed an infection due to his gunshot wounds so I advised him to be admitted to the hospital,” Estacion said.Cafe, 52, of Sibulan, Negros Oriental, and an employee of the provincial government, was one of the 17 victims who were wounded when armed men attacked the Degamo residential compound in Pamplona town.Estaci...

Philippine Ambassador to Bahrain Anne Jalando-on Louis with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.*Philippine Ambassador to Bahrain Anne Jalando-on Louis presented her credentials to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on May 2, the Philippine Embassy announced.She is a Negrense and a University of St. La Salle nursing graduate.Louis presented her credentials to the King at the Sakhir Palace in Bahrain.She conveyed the felicitations from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and noted the longstanding ties and excellent relations between the Philippines and Bahrain, the press release from the embassy said.Louis also conveyed appreciation to the King for his policies and the hospitality and kind treatment accorded to more than 57,000 Filipinos in Bahrain.The King affirmed the strong bila...

Bacolod City Administrator Pacifico Maghari III and Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez at a press conference on Monday.*The rumors that Bacolod City Administrator Pacifico Maghari III will be replaced are not true, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Monday, May 8.The mayor made the clarification at a press conference amid rumors that Maghari may be replaced by former Councilor Caesar Distrito.Distrito ran for vice mayor under Benitez ticket in last year’s elections, but was defeated by Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran.The ban on the appointment of losing candidates in last year’s elections to government post ends on May 10.“We will also take a look at those who ran under our ticket in the previous election. If there is a perfect fit among them based on their qualifications ...

Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. , Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Fermin Sta. Teresa Jr., senior vice president for Home Lending Operations of the Pag-IBIG Fund, lead the lowering of the time capsule at Villa Tiglawigan on Monday, May 8.*Richard Malihan photoCadiz City in northern Negros Occidental, in partnership with the Pag-IBIG Fund, launched a 12-hectare housing project for government employees on Monday afternoon, May 8.On the site will rise 260 socialized and 411 economic housing units.Called the Villa Tiglawigan, which is situated in the coastal Barangay Tiglawigan, the site of city's crab industry, the project intends to provide affordable and decent shelter for the target-beneficiaries, who are personnel of the city government and the Department of Education....

Negros Occidental remains African Swine Fever-free, the recent pigs deaths in the province were caused by hog cholera, Dr. Placeda Lemana, OIC provincial veterinarian, said Monday, May 8.The deaths were not only in EB Magalona but also in various areas in Negros Occidental, Lemana said.Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson in a recent memorandum to all Negros Occidental mayors said in view of the serious threat of trans boundary animal diseases, which could be aggravated by the extreme high heat index that could compromise the immunity of livestock and poultry, they are highly encouraged to strengthen the animal biosecurity measures in their areas.Lemana stressed the need for proper care of farm animals amid the current weather conditions.Hog and poultry raisers are ad...

The protestors in front of the Bacolod City Government Center on Monday.*Romeo Subaldo photoThree transportation groups in Bacolod City called off their strike Monday morning, May 8, after it was explained to them that it was not the city government that was preventing the granting of provisional authorities for them to operate their traditional jeepneys.They will instead bring their protest to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) regional office in Iloilo on May 11, Noli Rosales, Kilusang Mayo Uno secretary general and a member of the United Negros Drivers and Operators Center (UNDOC), said.The Bacolod Alliance of Commuters, Operators and Drivers, Negros Bacolod Transport Coalition and UNDOC members gathered in front of the Bacolod City Government C...

The Community Animal Rescue Efforts (CARE) Inc. reported that a dog was allegedly beaten to death by a security guard at the Carlos Hilado Memorial State University – Fortune town campus in Bacolod City on Monday, May 8.A concerned student from the university said that the dog attempted to go inside the campus at around 8:15 a.m. Monday and the security guard on duty tried to stop the dog by kicking him out, CARE reported in a post on its Facebook page.“The dog got scared and confused, he started to defend himself until the guard got this piece of wood and hit the dog on the head a couple of times. The dog was already laying there helpless, unable to move but this did not stop the guard from continuing to beat him up,” CARE added.“The students shouted at the guard to stop but t...