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Aug232022 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

SRA acknowledges shortage of sugar for beverage industry

This photo of a Coca-Cola plant in Naga has been circulating on social media.*The Sugar Regulatory Administration acknowledges that there is a shortage in refined sugar being used by the beverage industry, Acting SRA Administrator David Alba said Tuesday, August 23.“We are currently consolidating the data as to how much is really needed so we can recommend the necessary actions we need to take to the President,” he said.However, while they know that Coca-Cola is in a critical place in its sugar needs, Pepsi and RC Cola still have available supply as far as SRA records show, he added.“The Sugar Board just took office and we ask our industry partners to indulge us with some time so we can address this issue based on established facts,” he said.The Sugar Board was convened...

Aug232022 by Marchel P. EspinaNo Comments

High-value drug suspect nabbed in Silay

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A high-value drug individual was arrested in a drug buy-bust operation at Brgy. 2, Silay City, Negros Occidental Monday, August 22.*Silay PNP photoA reported high-value drug suspect was arrested in a buy-bust operation at Purok Mainuswagon, Brgy. 2, Silay City, Negros Occidental Monday, August 22.Nabbed was 41-year-old Dax Gonzales, who was tagged by the police as a high-value individual.He was arrested after he sold P600 worth of suspected shabu to a police poseur buyer.Recovered from his possession were 18 grams of suspected shabu worth P122,400 and other non-drug items.He is now in custody of the Silay police and facing drug charges.*

Aug232022 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

COC filing for December polls Oct. 6 to 13 unless postponed

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Negros Occidental Provincial Elections Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria*If Congress fails to postpone the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) on December 5, the filing of Certificates of Candidacy (COC) will be from October 6 to 13, Negros Occidental Provincial Elections Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria said Tuesday, August 23.Resolution 10831 sets the Calendar of Activities for the BSKE polls, he said.Aspirants for the BSKE polls only have six days to file their COCs at the Office of the Election Officer (OEO) in their city or municipality.The election period for the December 5 polls will start from October 6 up to December 12, wherein a gun ban will be imposed, Ananoria said.The campaign period will be from November 25 to December 3, and the voting period will be...

Aug232022 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Negros dengue deaths now 22, cases up 131 percent – PHO

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The dengue deaths in Negros Occidental this year have risen to 22, Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, provincial health officer, said on Tuesday, August 23.Negros Occidental also recorded 3,574 dengue cases as of August 13, or an increase by 131.01 percent compared to the same period last year, he said.Tumimbang said they are validating the deaths if indeed all were caused by dengue.The dengue cases in Negros Occidental have not reached alert level or epidemic threshold status yet, he said.The Department of Health (DOH), on the other hand, has recorded 3.648 dengue cases in Negros Occidental as of August 13.Bacolod City had 620 dengue cases and eight deaths as of August 13, the DOH said.The dengue cases in Western Visayas have hit 10,272, with 59 deaths, the DOH added.That i...

Aug232022 by Digicast NegrosNo Comments

68th Philsutech convention opens in Bacolod Wednesday

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Philsutech overall convention chairman Noli Segovia and his wife, Lyn, corporate secretary and admin officer Haydee V. Rivera, Bacolod Rep. Greg Gasataya’s chief of staff Franz Tionko and president Jose Ma. Valmayor, wife, Kristin Marie, cut the ribbon for the opening of the Philsutech product exhibit at SMX Convention Center on Tuesday.*The Philippine Sugar Technologists Association Inc. (Philsutech), an organization of sugarcane technologists and sugar industry stakeholders in the country, opens its 68th Annual National Convention at SMX Convention Center, Bacolod City, Wednesday, August 24.Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri has been invited to deliver the keynote address, while Acting Sugar Regulatory Administrator Dave Alba is expected to address the assembly.Negros Occidental Gov. Eu...

Aug232022 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

House committee forms TWG to consolidate three NIR bills

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Representatives Greg Gasataya, Gerardo Valmayor, Alfredo Marañon III, Francisco Benitez, Juliet Ma. Ferrer and Mercedes Alvarez (l-r) of Negros Occidental are among the authors of the bills seeking the creation of the NIR.*The House Committee on Local Government held initial deliberations on three bills that aim to create the Negros Island Region on Tuesday morning, August 23, Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said.Benitez and nine other Negros representatives authored House Bill No. 1446 seeking the creation of Region VI- B or the expanded NIR , which includes Negros Occidental and Oriental, and Siquijor.A Technical Working Group was created to consolidate the bills and address questions, co-headed by Rep. Mercedes Alvarez (Neg. Occ., 6th District) and Re...

Aug232022 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Veteran journalist, editor passes away

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Ninfa R. Leonardia*Multi-awarded veteran journalist, editor and mentor to many, Ninfa R. Leonardia, passed away 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, August 23.She was editor-in-chief and president of the Visayan Daily Star in Bacolod City and wrote a column called “Twinkling”.Leonardia, 89, succumbed to a heart attack at the Riverside Medical Center in Bacolod City, her brother Evelio Leonardia, former Bacolod mayor and League of Cities of the Philippines president, said.“Our family grieves the loss of our pillar of strength and clan matriarch. But we are definitely sure that with her life-long commitment and dedication to journalism, where she had displayed her unique talents and established an unquestioned integrity during all these decades, she will also be missed and honored by the fourt...

Aug222022 by Marchel P. EspinaNo Comments

DSWD-6 assures ‘better system’ in next cash assistance payout

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The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Western Visayas has assured the public that it will improve its distribution system for its one-time cash assistance for indigent students.This, after thousands flocked to Ayala Malls Capitol Central in Bacolod City on Saturday, August 20, for the initial payout, but only 587 indigent students in the city and the province received cash assistance amounting to P2.203 million.Chaos ensued after the local DSWD office announced that only 600 beneficiaries from Bacolod City and Negros Occidental will be accommodated on the first day of the cash payout. More than 7,000 reportedly lined up outside of the mall. Some had started the queue as early as Friday night, August 19.Videos of the huge crowd forcing their way inside the m...

Aug222022 by Marchel P. EspinaNo Comments

One killed, 1 injured at wake

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A man was killed and another was injured when a shooting broke out at a wake in Barangay Japitan, Escalante City, Negros Occidental, on Sunday, August 21.Killed was 33-year-old Jamar Paulino, while injured was Benjie Sabino, 50, who was said to be the target of the shooting.The victims and the suspect identified as 52-year-old Eduardo Mahilum were having a drinking spree at the wake.While Sabino and Mahilum were having a conversation, the suspect showed his firearm to the victim, who advised the latter to keep his weapon as there were many people attending the vigil.This prompted Sabino to leave Mahilum and sit beside Paulino, who was watching others engaged in a card game.Mahilum then went to Sabino and shot him in the face, but the bullet went through and hit Paulino ...

Aug222022 by Romeo SubaldoNo Comments

Baby buried alive

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The baby was found buried here.*A newborn baby was found buried alive at a public cemetery in Pulupandan town Sunday, August 21.But hours later, it succumbed to loss of air after being inside a shoebox for more than three hours.Gravedigger Ramie Aurelio dug up the baby after a co-worker informed him about the cries at the burial site.Cristel Haro, 22, and Caesar Valdivieso, 23, reportedly went to the cemetery to bury their child. The couple said that the woman had a miscarriage and they would process their documents the following day.Pulupandan police chief Capt. Ryan Villasario, said the two kept secret the girl's pregnancy from her parents, as their other son is 10 months old.The police is now preparing an infanticide case against the parents.*