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The signing of the MOAs on Monday*CPG photoIn a major push toward a circular economy, Deputy House Speaker and Bacolod Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez launched city-wide partnerships with local businesses  on Monday afternoon, June 8, to convert used cooking oil into affordable biodiesel, providing a much-needed lifeline to local fishermen struggling with high fuel costs.Representatives of the participating business establishments gathered at the SMX Convention Center Bacolod to sign memorandums of agreement (MOA) with Green Solutions Inc., the company tasked with implementing the "Biodiesel: Collect, Recycle, Renew" project.Green Solutions Inc., headed by Ian Fred Solas, is an accredited waste transporter and treatment, storage, and disposal facility.The initiative ...

Mayor Greg Gasataya led the distribution of free school supplies at A.L. Jayme Elementary School on Monday, June 8, marking the official launch of Bacolod City’s school supplies and P.E. uniform distribution program for public school learners.The program will benefit approximately 113,000 students from Kindergarten to Senior High School enrolled in public schools under the Department of Education–Division of Bacolod.Following the kickoff, the city-wide distribution continued at Kabugwason Elementary School, Mandalagan Elementary School, and Abkasa Elementary School, where  Gasataya and city officials  handed out school kits to learners.The initiative aims to help ease the financial burden on families and ensure students begin the school year with the basic materials t...

A 50-year-old barber was shot dead while cutting a customer’s hair inside his shop in Bacolod City on Sunday night, June 7.Police identified the victim as Carlito Alcala Jr., a resident of Arao Dos, Brgy. Vista Alegre.The shooting happened at around 7 p.m. at Blk. 110, Lot 1, Arao Dos.Police investigation revealed that the victim was cutting the hair of a male minor when an unidentified man wearing a cap suddenly entered and shot him several times.The victim sustained three gunshot wounds on his thigh and was rushed to the Metro Bacolod Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.The suspect fled after the shooting.Police are still determining the motive behind the killing and working to identify the suspect, who was allegedly with another person on board a moto...

A purok chairman was shot dead by two unidentified persons in Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, on Monday morning, June 8.Police identified the victim as Marlo Galan, 58, resident of Sitio Mag-anay Uno, Brgy. Bi-ao.Initial investigation by the Binalbagan Municipal Police Station showed Galan was at a camp watching over workers when two persons allegedly approached and shot him.The victim sustained gunshot wounds in different parts of his body, causing his death.The suspects fled after the shooting.Police recovered from the scene three live ammunition and four fired cartridge cases of a  .45 caliber pistol.Authorities are still investigating the motive and working to identify the suspects.*

The Land Transportation Office-Negros Island Region issued 2,428 free Theoretical Driving Course (TDC) certificates across the region in the first quarter of 2026.In a Facebook post on June 8, LTO-NIR said the certificates were issued from January to March as part of its effort to make driver education more accessible to aspiring motorists.The free TDC program provides applicants access to the mandatory theoretical driving course required for driver’s license applications.LTO-NIR said the initiative also aims to promote responsible and road safety-conscious drivers in the Negros Island Region.The agency, under OIC Regional Director Jeck Conlu said it will continue expanding public access to driver education.LTO-NIR said the number of free TDC availments reflects growing...

A 25-kilowatt solar power facility is now operating in off-grid Matabas Island in Sagay City to support safe water access, community lighting, charging stations, and public facilities through the REPower Matabas Project.The project was formally commissioned on Monday, June 8, in time for World Ocean Day.Joshua Villalobos, secretary-general of the Negrosanon Initiative for Climate and the Environment, said the facility includes a 12-kilowatt hybrid solar system for the water desalination facility, an 8-kilowatt hybrid solar rooftop system for the school, and a 5-kilowatt system for the church.The project also includes battery energy storage, 70 solar-powered streetlights, and charging stations for the island community.Villalobos said Matabas is among the off-grid island comm...

The student was summoned to the principal's office*BCCO photoA Grade 7 student who posted fake news on Facebook on Sunday claiming classes in Bacolod City were suspended will undergo disciplinary action and counseling to prevent a repeat of the incident, Secretary to the Mayor Jose Mary Go said.The student was summoned to the principal's office this morning, June 8, Go confirmed.The minor was accompanied by his mother, who claimed her son's Facebook account had been hacked."The city warns anyone who deliberately spreads fake news that they will be caught by authorities and held accountable for their wrongdoing," Go said.On Sunday, a post on the official Bacolod City Facebook page warned the public about the circulating fake news regarding the Monday class suspension....

PNA file photo by Avito DalanContinued forced outage of three units of major coal-fired power plants in the Visayas has resulted in another yellow alert status for the grid from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday.The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said units 1 and 2 of Therma Visayas Inc. (TVI) and unit 3 of the Panay Energy Development Corporation (PEDC) remain unavailable.A yellow alert status is raised when there is inadequate operating market against the grid’s contingency requirement.NGCP said the grid’s total capacity during the day is around 2,659 megawatts (MW) while peak demand is projected to hit 2,510 MW.It said a total of six plants are on forced outage this month alone, eight since May, one since March, three since 2025, two since 2024, two sin...

Kabataan Partylist on Sunday, June 7, condemned the Cayetano-bloc’s Senate Blue Ribbon hearing, stating that it "has once again been used as a platform for political attacks, manufactured narratives, and baseless accusations against former Makabayan representatives."The allegations raised by the so-called "18 Marines" against former ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, former Gabriela Women's Party Rep. Arlene Brosas, and former Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel are "scripted, patently false, and devoid of credible evidence," Florence Guzon, Kabataan Partylist Vice President for Visayas, said in a press statement.“Rather than presenting verifiable facts, the hearing has been dominated by speculation, insinuations, and recycled accusations that have repeatedly failed to withstand pub...