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A Bacolod tricycle driver was sentenced on Friday, August 26, to two life terms for the possession and sale of drugs.Executive Judge Raymond Joseph Javier of Bacolod Regional Trial Court Branch 52 sentenced Randy Azuelo Alcala Jr., alias Liboy, to life imprisonment and to pay a fine of P500, 000 for the sale shabu in violation of Section 5, Article II of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.Alcala was apprehended after he sold .063 gram of shabu to a police poseur buyer for P500 at Purok Mars, Barangay Singcang-Airport in Bacolod City on July 3, 2021. On his arrest 10.520 grams of shabu were recovered from his possession, the police told the court.The judge found Alcala guilty of possession of the 10.620 grams of shabu in violation of Section 11, Article II of the Comp...

Brig. Gen. Leo Francisco, Police Regional Office-6 director, leads a command conference at the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office headquarters on Friday, August 26.*NOCPPO photoThe Police Regional Office-6 will tighten its security measures in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental to prevent the entry of illegal drugs during the MassKara Festival.Brig. Gen. Leo Francisco, acting PRO-6 director, who was in the province for a command conference Friday, August 26, said the supply of illegal drugs is still on the ground, citing the huge drug haul of drugs in the region, recently.He said that the police will focus on their anti-drug campaign.The police said that based on their monitoring, the demand for illegal drugs increases during festivals because of the influx of peopl...

The scene of the crime in Calatrava.*PNP photoAnother village chief was gunned down in Negros Occidental.Brgy. Lalong, Calatrava chief Benjamin Javoc, 54, was shot to death by 10 unidentified men Friday, August 26.The suspects then carted away the victim’s belongings and P20,000 in cash.The police are investigating if the crime was insurgency-related.On Wednesday, August 24, gunmen also killed the chief of Barangay Cabcab, Isabela, which was also said to be insurgency-related.

San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza at the Green SONA on Friday*Planned infrastructure projects in Western Visayas are threatening important ecosystems, San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza said Friday, August 26.Alminaza was one the speakers at the Green SONA (State of Nature Assessment) with the theme “The continuing assault on nature: What are the ecological options?” at the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City.The planned Patag-Calatrava Road runs through protected forest in Northern Negros, and the proposed Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridge threatens the critically endangered dolphins in the Iloilo-Guimaras Strait, he said.A Green SONA resolution said that the Northern Negros Natural Park and the Philippine forests in general are threatened primarily by human activities,...

Henjie Cuadra, the alleged leader of the investment scam.*NOCPPO photoOne of the suspected leaders of an alleged investment “scam” in Negros Occidental was arrested Thursday, August 25, at San Gregorio Village, Binalbagan.Nabbed was Henjie Cuadra, who was said to be one of the leaders and founders of RGS Corporation that allegedly scammed millions from its investors.His apprehension was by virtue of an arrest warrant for syndicated estafa issued by Bacolod City Regional Trial Court Judge Maria Lina Palencia Gonzaga on August 15.No bail was recommended for his temporary liberty.Cuadra denied the allegations against him. He did not escape, he had only gon on vacation, Cuadra said.The police urged the victims of the “investment scam” to file complaints.*

Dr. Jessica Fama, medical specialist 3 of the Provincial Health Office*Twenty-five COVID-19 deaths have been reported in Negros Occidental this August, 10 of which happened this week, the Provincial Incident Management Team (PIMT) reported.Negros Occidental also had 238 active COVID-19 cases on Friday, August 26, the PIMT added.Of the 10 deaths reported on Thursday, five of the fatalities were unvaccinated against COVID-19 and five had no records of immunization, Dr. Jessica Fama, medical specialist 3 of the Provincial Health Office, said.She said the majority of those hit by COVID-19 in Negros Occidental who died were unvaccinated, had comorbidities or were senior citizens.The Provincial Health Office is now campaigning for the vaccination of children with the start of...

Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez sought the help of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) on Friday, August 26, to investigate the recent tremors that shook two barangays in Victorias City and damaged classrooms at the Negros Occidental National Science High School (NONSHS).Benitez in a letter to Raul Laput, MGB Western Visayas regional director, said that on August 24 and 25 it was reported to his office that ”earthquakes” were felt in barangays 10 and 14 in Victorias.A three-story building with several classrooms at the NONSHS was affected “showing damage which appear to be worrisome, if not significant and substantial”, Benitez said.For the safety, security and peace of mind of the school officials, students a...

Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante*Mayor Salvador Escalante has suspended all non-essential gatherings in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, effective immediately because of the continued rise in COVID-19 cases.Escalante issued Executive Order No. SGE-018 -2022, Series of 2022, on Friday, August 26, suspending the application and issuance of all permits for non-essential gatherings, and revoking all permits already issued.Cadiz City is currently under Alert Level 1.There is a need to exercise preventive intervention to stem the continued rise of confirmed COVID-19 cases for the health and safety of Cadiz residents, most especially those with pre-existing co-morbidities as well as the elderly population, Escalante said in his EO.He identified non-essential gatherings as dan...