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The police are investigating the allegation of the family of a slain commercial sex worker that the pimp who was beheaded was behind her death.Capt. Elmer Bonilla, Bacolod Police Station 7 commander, said they are not discounting the possibility that Mario Demetrio may be behind the killing, but they need evidence to prove the claims of the slain sex worker’s family.Demetrio was said to be the last person to see the commercial sex worker alive. She was found dead on the side of a road in Barangay Alijis on September 8.Demetrio, who was beheaded, was found on September 17.The Bacolod and Negros Occidental police are currently working together on the two cases.*

Anti-drug operatives in Negros Occidental undergo drug tests this week.*NOCPPO photoMore than 100 anti-drug operatives from various drug enforcement teams in Negros Occidental underwent drug tests on Tuesday, September 20.This is part of the internal cleansing policy of the Philippine National Police to ensure that policemen, especially those who focus on illegal drug operations, are not using illegal drugs.The target of the NOCPPO is to subject all 307 personnel of the drug enforcement teams of the police stations to the drug tests.Their drug test results are expected to come out next week.Lt. Judesses Catalogo, NOCPPO public information officer, said policemen who refuse to take the mandatory drug test will have to submit a written explanation or may face an administr...

The motorcycle that was hit by a truck.*Murcia PNP photoA 21-year-old motorcycle driver was killed after he was hit by a truck at the national highway in Brgy. Blumentritt, Murcia, Negros Occidental, Wednesday, September 21.Killed was Andrie Ditching of Brgy. Blumentritt.Police said the motorcycle driver overtook two sugarcane trucks he was following, but had to slow down and return to his lane because of a parked truck on the side of the road.He failed to notice that one of the trucks was being towed, so he hit the tow bar, fell from his motorcycle and was run over.The two truck drivers are detained at the police station.*

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson is reminding local government units to inspect water refilling stations and sources of commercial water with the onset of the rainy season.The governor issued the call on Thursday, September 22, following a reported cholera case in Bacolod City and the Department of Health (DOH) alert against the rising cases of acute gastroenteritis in Western Visayas.The Provincial Health Office is on top of that, they are monitoring especially water refilling stations, Lacson said.“We’re particular about local brands, we really have to check on their water stations,” he said.So far there are no cholera cases in Negros Occidental, but he is reminding the public to be very particular about their sources of water, Lacson said.It was found that ...

The harvest season in the sugarcane industry has started.*Nilry Austine Lobaton Balasa photoThe about 3,000 migrant workers arriving in Negros Occidental for the sugarcane harvest season are required to have booster shots against COVID-19, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Thursday, September 22.They will no longer be required to undergo RT-PCR (reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction) or Rapid Antigen Tests but they must have booster shots, he said.Their vaccination cards will be checked on entry into Negros Occidental, “we will make sure nobody comes in who is not boostered”, he said.The migrant workers will be picked up by their employers on their arrival and brought directly to their farm quarters for observation for a number of days before they are a...

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri *The Senate is expected to approve the bill seeking to postpone the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) to December 2023 on third and final reading next week.It is expected to be approved on Monday, September 26, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri told DIGICAST NEGROS on Thursday, September 22.Senate Bill No. 1306 that seeks to postpone the barangay and SK elections, on Dec. 5, 2022, to December 2023 was approved on second reading on Wednesday, he said.The measure also sets the subsequent synchronized barangay and SK polls to the second Monday of May 2026, and every three years thereafter, said Senator Imee Marcos, chairperson of the Committee on Electoral Reforms and People's Participation, who sponsored the measure.T...

The book features food stories from the people of Negros Occidental, authored by Jo Anne V. Coruña.*The second edition of the book, “Halin sa Kusina”, was launched as part of this year’s Provincial Tourism Week celebration at the Ayala Malls Capitol Central Activity Center in Bacolod City on Thursday, September 22.The Food Crawl that showcased the delicacies from the different cities and municipalities of the Negros Occidental, was also held.The book features food stories from the people of Negros Occidental, authored by Jo Anne V. Coruña.Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said that the book is an excellent way to preserve heirloom recipes that can be passed down through generations.He also said that Negros Occidental is admittedly one of the prime food destinations in the Philip...

Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, Jose Miguel Habana and Dr. Cristina Orbecido (l-r) cut the ribbon at the launching of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) computer shared laboratory*The Negros Occidental provincial government launched the first International English Language Testing System (IELTS) computer shared laboratory in the Visayas at its Negros Occidental Language and Information Technology Center (NOLITC) in Bacolod City on Thursday, September 22.The IELTS shared laboratory will be operated by NOLITC in partnership with IDP Philippines.“We are proud to open the first shared lab in the Visayas that will provide computer-delivered IELTS exams,” Lacson said.This development, which makes IELTS more accessible, wil...

The 12-year-old who needs help.*A campaign is on to raise funds for the purchase of a small ventilator needed at the Siervas de Maria clinic for indigent patients in Barangay Handumanan, Bacolod City.They need to raise P180,000 for a ventilator that is urgently needed for a 12-year-old boy to survive, charity diva Token Lizares said on Thursday, September 22.Jeffrey Mayordomo Jr., 12, of Sipalay City is currently confined at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City after he fell from a parked truck and hit his head.The patient can eat, talk and is aware but cannot breathe when the ventilator he is currently on is removed, she said.The doctors are saying that even after he is released from the hospital he will need to be kept on a ventila...