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The P1.02 million worth of illegal drugs was recovered in this bag.*PDEA-6 photoA passenger at the Bacolod Real Estate Development Corp. (BREDCO) port was intercepted smuggling P1.02 million worth of illegal drugs Wednesday, September 14.The suspect was identified as Martial Delos Santos, 49, of Lapaz, Iloilo. He was bound for Dumangas, Iloilo when he was caught by authorities.The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Seaport Interdiction Unit said the passenger appeared restless after he refused to have his bag scanned at the port terminal.Their suspicion was confirmed after the K-9 sniffed the suspect’s bag and indicated there was a contraband inside.When the authorities checked, they found the shabu concealed in socks.The suspect, in a media interview, denied...

Members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod approved the appointment of Valerie Anne Hollero as consultant for health insurance and health care.*SP photoThere is a proposal for the Bacolod City government to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation with the Negros Occidental provincial government to strengthen bilateral relations, Councilor Al Victor Espino said Wednesday, September 14.Espino, chair of the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod committee on laws, ordinances and good government, said this was raised when the request of Mayor Alfredo Benitez to sign the consultancy agreements with three provincial government officials and a former Philippine Health Insurance Corp. executive was taken up during the SP regular session on Wednesday.The four proposed consultan...

Traditional jeepneys  now have  competition from  modern more comfortable  jeepneys in Bacolod City* Levi Trio photoThe Negros Bacolod Transport Coalition wants clarification on the exact routes of modernized jeepneys and where they can load and unload passengers, its secretary general Diego Malacad said on Wednesday, September 14.Modern jeepneys should have points of origin and destination, and designated off-street loading and unloading areas, he said.Malacad said his group has asked for a meeting with Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), Land Transportation Office (LTO) and local government representatives on Thursday morning to clarify matters.They also want to know if traditional jeepneys will be allowed to operate only until September 30 or up...

The Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office VI announced on Wednesday, September 14, that there will be no educational assistance payouts for indigent students in Western Visayas on September 17 and 24 because the funds provided by the DSWD Central Office have run out.There have been 36,131 students-in-crisis who have been given a total of P101,326,000 in educational assistance in the region so far, the DSWD VI said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.Much as they would like to continue the distribution of educational assistance there are no funds left, it added.The DSWD VI office has submitted a proposal to the DSWD Central Office but so far no additional funds have been downloaded, the statement said.*

The arrival of imported sugar by mid-November, when most mills are already operating and sugar supply would have substantially stabilized, might dampen millgate sugar prices , Enrique Rojas, National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) president, said.* Ronnie Baldonado photoPresident Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed Sugar Order No. 2, Series of 2022-2023, allowing the importation of 150,000 metric tons of refined sugar to ensure adequate domestic supply and to stabilize prices.The order released Wednesday, September 14, said that 75,000 metric tons will be allocated to industrial users and 75,000 metric tons for consumers.The sugar must arrive in the country not later than November 15, it said.Sugar Order No. 2 was signed by Marcos as chairman of the Sugar Regulatory Ad...

Garbage being dumped at Barangay Palaka Sur, Pulupandan.*San Enrique Mayor Jilson Tubillara said on Wednesday, September 14, that he has ordered the immediate removal of the garbage from his town that was dumped on private property in Pulupandan, Negros Occidental.Tubillara said it was not just San Enrique that dumped garbage in Pulupandan, Valladolid town, also did the same.San Enrique is removing its garbage and Valladolid will also have to remove what it dumped in the area, Tubillara said.Valladolid Mayor Enrique Marivalles could not be reached for comment.Pulupandan Mayor Miguel Antonio Peña on September 2 ordered Novo Torres to cease and desist from further operating an illegal open dumpsite within his property at Barangay Palaka Sur, Pulupandan, in violation of Re...

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez*Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has issued Executive Order No. 29, Series of 2022, constituting the Bacolod City Disposal Committee to manage the disposal of city government properties that are unserviceable and no longer needed.The mayor will chair the committee with City Administrator Pacifico Maghari III as vice chairperson.The secretariat and technical working committee will be headed by Secretary to the Mayor Karol Joseph Chiu.The Bacolod City Disposal Committee will be responsible for conducting inspections of properties of the city that are to be disposed either because they are unserviceable, no longer needed or as requested by the user or custodian of the property.The committee is also tasked to make a master list of proper...

Senators Aquilino Pimentel III and Risa Hontiveros filed a “minority report” on the sugar importation fiasco on Tuesday, September 13.*Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez is not “blameless” in the recent Sugar Order No. 4 (SO4) importation fiasco, Senator Risa Hontiveros said Tuesday, September 13.Hontiveros and Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, representing the Senate Minority Bloc, at a press conference released a report disagreeing with several findings of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on the controversial issuance of SO 4 granting the importation of 300,000 Mt.The Blue Ribbon Committee recommended the filing of charges against Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian, former Sugar Regulatory Administration administrator Hermenegildo Serafica, and board members ...

The scene of the crime in Barangay Taculing, Bacolod City.*BCPO photoA senior citizen was killed by his neighbor in Barangay Taculing, Bacolod City, on Monday, September 12.Police identified the fatality as 60-year-old Eduard Tornia, who was watching television at his home when his neighbor allegedly barged in and stabbed him to death.Lt. Dax Santillan, officer-in-charge of Police Station 6, said the suspect identified as 29-year-old Louie John Barte could have hit the victim first on the head then stabbed him in the face.The police recovered the murder weapon and a steel rod from the scene of the crime.They are looking at grudges as the motive for the killing, Santillan said, adding that the victim and the suspect figured in an argument last month.The suspect, who ...

The extension cord that electrocuted the mother.*Bago PNP photoA mother died after she was electrocuted in her home at Brgy. Calumangan, Bago City, Negros Occidental, on Monday, September 12.She was identified as Analie Martir, 42.The victim, who was with her two sons aged 9 and 6, was plugging a rechargeable radio to an extension cord when she was electrocuted, a police report said.The two boys, who witnessed the incident, immediately called their father for help.The victim was brought to the Bago City Hospital where she was declared dead on arrival.*