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The 10-minute encounter resulted in the arrest of Isabelle Necesario, the Army said*A suspected high-ranking female leader of the New People’s Army (NPA) was captured in an encounter with  government troopers in Calatrava, Negros Occidental, on Wednesday, July 6.The troops of 79th Infantry "Masaligan" Battalion received a tip from residents of armed persons in the area and immediately responded.The 10-minute encounter resulted in  the arrest of Isabelle Necesario, alias Maoline/Nads/Diane/Idel. She was said to be the deputy secretary of North Negros Front (NNF).Recovered from the encounter site were two rifle grenades, two .38  caliber revolvers with seven live ammunition, a .45 caliber pistol with five live ammunition, five flash drives, eight cellphones, th...

Dr. Anna Maria Laarni Pornan and spokesperson Lyzander Dilag at a press conference Thursday, July 7.*Mayor Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez has issued an executive order streamlining Bacolod City’s COVID-19 response, his spokesperson Lyzander Dilag said Thursday, July 7.Executive Order 005, Series of 2022 transfers the functions  of the  Emergency Operations  Center Task Force to   the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office that has been tasked  to   spearhead the COVID-19 response of Bacolod, complimented by the different departments and  offices of the city government, Dilag said during  in a press conference.Executive Order 005, Series of 2022, also creates the COVID-19 Action Team to come-up with a coordinated action resp...

“We cannot go back to the scenario of closing borders and lockdowns”, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Thursday, July 7.Negros Occidental will not be closing its borders to people coming from areas where there have been recent increases in COVID-19 cases, Lacson said.Iloilo City had 480 active COVID-19 cases, with 59 new cases on Thursday, the Department of Health reported.Negros Occidental had 23 active cases on Thursday, the Provincial Incident Management Team reported.Lacson said while the COVID-19 cases in Negros Occidental have slightly gone up they are clearly manageable, hospitals are not getting filled up that indicates that they are mild.This proves that the COVID-19 vaccination drive has helped, he said.“We’ll observe what’s happening...

Victorias City Mayor Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez (seated, 3rd from left) with the Negros ACE mayors on Thursday.*Victorias City Mayor Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez was elected president of the Association of Chief Executives (ACE) of Negros Occidental at Acacia Hotel in Bacolod City on Thursday, July 7.Benitez, who replaces former Victorias mayor Francis Palanca as Negros ACE president, said he is honored to be elected to the post.Elected Negros ACE vice president is Bago Mayor Nicholas Yulo, secretary general -  Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante,  treasurer – San Enrique Mayor Jilson Tubillara, auditor – Himamaylan City Mayor Raymund  Tongson, and public information officer – Salvador Benedicto Mayor Marxlen de la Cruz,  Benitez said.Meanwhile, Negros...

Nine Negros Island representatives filed a bill seeking the creation of an expanded Negros Island Region before the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said Thursday, July 7.House Bill 1446 seeks to create Region VI- B composed of the provinces of Negros Occidental and Oriental and Siquijor, he said.Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, who is expected to be the next Senate president, told DIGICAST NEGROS he also filed a bill seeking the creation of the NIR, composed of Negros Occidental and Oriental, in the Senate on Wednesday.The expanded NIR bill in the Lower House  was introduced by  Benitez, Joseph Stephen Paduano (Abang Lingkod), Gerardo Valmayor Jr. (Neg. Occ., 1st District),  Emilio Bernardino Yulo (Neg. Occ., 5th...

A partnership agreement between the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) for the implementation of the DigitalJobsPH program in Negros Occidental was signed at the at Negros Residences in Bacolod City on Thursday, July 7,  Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said.Formerly called Rural Impact Sourcing (RIS) Program, the DigitalJobsPH aims to capacitate people in the countryside to do online freelancing as a means of livelihood using their own Internet platform or RIS Hubs.It is a pioneering program in the region that aims to provide trainings to cooperatives in Western Visayas starting with the Kabankalan-Ilog Teachers and Employees Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Lacson said. Lacson said that the initiative is ...

The NAIA International Airport.* Maliz Ong photoAn alliance of labor groups in Negros Occidental is vehemently opposing the proposal to rename the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) into the Ferdinand E. Marcos International Airport.Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. (Neg. Or., 3rd District) filed House Bill No.610 on June 30 seeking the renaming of the NAIA.Wennie Sancho, General Alliance of Workers Associations (GAWA) secretary general, said on Thursday, July 7, that it is another attempt to rewrite if not distort history.“The people are the authors of our history and not the politicians. NAIA was named after former Senator Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino Jr., who was assassinated on Aug. 21, 1983 on this airport which now bears his name sprinkled with his blood and a martyr's death th...

Hinoba-an Mayor Daph Anthony Reliquias*Mayor Daph Anthony Reliquias, the youngest mayor of Hinoba-an town in Negros Occidental, has issued executive orders creating  three new offices that will address the basic needs of his constituents.Reliquias ordered the establishment of Livelihood and Cooperative, Emergency Assistance, and Social Services Offices (LESS).For the first time in Hinoba-an and given the geographical location of the town, the one call/text/dm hotline was put in place as the cornerstone of DIAL D.A.P.H. Central Command as spelled out in Executive Order No. 1, a press release from the town said.Any concerns that focus on emergency, fire, police and medical support can be sent through the hotline so that the Central Command can relay and coordinate with p...

The 3rd District of Negros Occidental has a rich culinary heritage and has vast potential for food tourism, Rep Francisco Benitez said.*Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) has just filed 11 bills, including three seeking the establishment of a Victorias City General Hospital, a Negros Occidental High School for Sports in E.B. Magalona, and a multi-species marine hatchery in Talisay City.House Bill 1239 calls for the establishment of a P500 million Victorias City General Hospital, which is crucial to providing the people of Victorias wider access to affordable and quality healthcare - and saving lives from medical emergencies, he said.House Bill 75 seeks the establishment of a high school for sports to cultivate  young Negrosanons to become accomplished ...

The NPA belongings recovered from the scene of the encounter*Four suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) died in a clash with the state troopers at  Sitio Amelis, Brgy. Santol, Binalbagan, Negros Occidental on Wednesday, July 6.The Army said  residents tipped them off regarding the presence of the armed rebels in the area. The group were said to be involved in the ambush of the police in Binalbagan early this year.Troops of the  94th Infantry Battalion responded to the tip that resulted to a three-minute firefight with the rebels belonging to the Central Negros 2 (CN 2) Front.Three males and  one female were killed, the Army said.Recovered from the encounter site were war materials including an M-16 rifle with M203 grenade launcher, a M-16 ...