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Former Sugar Regulatory Administration head Hermenegildo Serafica*A Himamaylan Regional Trial Court judge on Monday, September 26, found former Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) head Hermenegildo Serafica guilty of indirect contempt of court for issuing a memorandum allowing the importation of sugar in violation of a writ of preliminary injunction.Himamaylan RTC Branch 55 Judge Walter Zorilla sentenced Serafica to suffer the straight penalty of imprisonment for 15 days and to pay a fine of P30,000.Zorilla also issued a warrant of arrest against Serafica for the service of the imprisonment imposed upon him.The judge on March 2, 2022 issued a writ of preliminary injunction directing the SRA, its agents and representatives or persons acting in its behalf to cease and desis...

Megaworld is bringing another iconic addition to its 34-hectare The Upper East township in Bacolod City with the construction of The Upper East House, a three-level township showroom that will be designed to pay tribute to the historic institution that used to occupy the township’s current location, the Bacolod-Murcia Milling Company (BMMC), its officials announced Monday, September 26.The vintage look of The Upper East House takes inspiration from the design of BMCC guest house known then as the “Balay Puti” or “Balay Daku” inside the former sugar milling complex, ” where members of the Araneta family spent their vacations.It will be the crown jewel of the township that will be a perfect blend of the old and new, and will open to the public in the fourth quarter of 2023, Harold Ge...

Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and the Bacolod City officials with Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) at the closing of the Negros Trade Fair at Glorietta 2 in Makati City Sunday, September 25.* Bacolod PIO photoThe 36th Negros Trade Fair (NTF) at Glorietta 2 in Makati City ended Sunday night, September 25, with an increase in sales by 45 percent compared to 2019, Sybel Nobleza, Association of Negros Producers (ANP) external affairs manager, said.Their initial sales tally was P33.3 million, she said.Nobleza said they will probably have a final tally on Monday.The sales figure this year could increase as they were still waiting for the confirmation on the big bookings, Nobleza said.MaryAnn Colmenares, Association of Negros Producers, vice president for advo...

A member of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) was gunned down at Sitio Kabayabasan, Brgy. Montilla, Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, on Saturday, September 24.Killed was Joselito Raboy, 40, a member of the Delta Company of the Army 62nd Infantry Battalion (IB) based in Barangay Quintin Remo, Moises Padilla.The victim, who was off duty and unarmed, was onboard his motorcycle from the detachment when he was ambushed by four suspected members of the New People’s Army, Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, Army 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, said.Recovered from the scene were slugs of a .45 caliber pistol.*

The path of Super Typhoon “Karding”*The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council IV placed Western Visayas under red alert and activated its Charlie Protocol on Sunday, September 25, because of the threat of flooding and landslides that may be brought on by Super Typhoon “Karding” and the Southwest Monsoon.Charlie Protocol or the highest emergency preparedness and response protocol was activated as Aklan, Antique, Iloilo, Guimaras and Negros Occidental were classified as high risk or susceptible to landslides and flooding, the Office of Civil Defense said.“Karding” will not directly hit Negros Occidental.It slightly weakened as it was about to make landfall in the vicinity of the General Nakar-Dingalan area at 8 p.m. Sunday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysica...

A Bacolod mother was sentenced to life imprisonment for the sale of shabu to a policeman at Purok Lampirong, Barangay 2, Bacolod City, on June 15, 2020.Executive Judge Raymond Joseph Javier of Bacolod Regional Trial Court Branch 52 on Thursday, September 22, sentenced Ma. Luth Belnas Tolentino, alias Neneng Aluman, to life imprisonment and to pay a fine of P500,000 for the sale of .077 gram of shabu for P300.She was also sentenced to an indeterminate prison term of 12 years and eight months as minimum to 17 years and eight months as maximum and to pay a fine of P300,000 for possession of 2.203 grams of shabu.Tolentino was also found guilty of possession of dangerous drugs paraphernalia and sentenced to an indeterminate prison term of six months and one day as minimum to two yea...

The P4 million worth of drugs seized in Brgy. Bata, Bacolod City, Saturday, September 24.*BCPO photoTwo high-value suspects were arrested in a drug bust operation that led to the recovery of P4.59 million worth of suspected shabu at Prk. Riverside, Brgy. Bata, Bacolod City, on Saturday, September 24.Nabbed were Erwin “Boy” Belonio, 34, of Brgy. Handumanan, and Anthony “Tiboy” Solon, 38, of Brgy. Bata.Recovered from the suspects were 675 grams of suspected shabu worth more than P4 million, the P3,000 buy-bust money, a sling bag, a coin purse, and P300 cash proceeds.The suspects are now detained at Police Station 3.Meanwhile, high-value individual Noel “Nognog” Dadivas was arrested in a drug-bust operation at Prk Sigay, Brgy. 2 in Bacolod, Friday, September 23.The sus...

The P1.02 million in shabu seized at the BREDCO port in Bacolod City, Sunday, September 25.*Police Station 2 photoLaw enforcers intercepted P1.02 million worth of suspected shabu from an Iloilo-bound passenger in the BREDCO port at the Reclamation Area in Bacolod City Sunday, September 25.Nabbed was Rhemhon Dumancas, 36, of Brgy. Patlad, Dumangas, Iloilo.A random K-9 sweeping and passenger profiling led to the arrest of the suspect.A Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency agent, in an interview with Aksyon Radyo, said the suspect refused to go through the port scanner and instead went to the comfort room where he threw a package in a trash can.When the authorities investigated, they found plastic packs of suspected shabu weighing 150 grams worth more than P1 million.The...

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in New York.*Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Saturday, September 24, that he held talks on waste management for Bacolod City during his visit to the United States with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.Discussed was a possible waste to fuel program, Benitez said.The mayor joined Marcos on his just concluded trip to the United States.The president delivered the Philippine national statement at the 77th United Nations General Assembly in New York, and met with business groups and Filipino communities.Benitez, his brother Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) and Bacolod City officials joined the Bacolod night at the closing of the Negros Trade Fair at Glorietta 2 in Makati City Sunday...