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About P2.1 million worth of lumber was turned over to the Negros Occidental provincial government on Friday, May 13, to be used as further assistance for the victims of typhoon “Odette,” Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.The provincial government will also begin distributing the P94.6 million National Housing Authority assistance to the typhoon victims that was put on hold during the election ban from March 25 to May 8, he said.The recipients will be 18,933 families who will receive P5,000 each.Diaz said the local governments have completed their lists of recipients and the provincial government will schedule the distribution when they are ready.Meanwhile, the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office of Barotac Nuevo turned over 42,400 board feet of mah...

A Bacolod resident was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday, May 13, for the sale of shabu to a police intelligence officer for P300.Executive Judge Raymond Joseph Javier of the Bacolod Regional Trial Court Branch 52 found Jason Buyco Dalisay guilty beyond reasonable doubt for violation of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2022, and meted the penalty of life imprisonment and ordered him to pay a fine of P500,000.He was also sentenced to 12 years and eight months as minimum to 17 years and eight months as maximum imprisonment for possession of .285 gram of shabu and ordered to pay a fine of P300,000.Dalisay was arrested in a buy bust operation after he sold .094 gram of shabu to a policeman at his house at Purok Celita, Barangay Alijis, Bacolod C...

BCPO photoMore than P1 million worth of illegal drugs were seized in a buy-bust operation in Barangay Pta. Taytay, Bacolod City, Friday, May 13.Nabbed were the subject of the operation, Pearl Elera, and her live-in partner Riegel Quimba. Both are tagged by the police as high-value individuals.They yielded 34 sachets of suspected shabu with an estimated value of P1,183,000 and will face drug charges, the police said.Their arrest came a week after police operatives also recovered more than P1 million worth of suspected shabu in Barangay 5 in the city.*

All candidates must submit their Statements of Election Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) on or before June 8, Roberto Salazar, Negros Occidental provincial elections supervisor, said Thursday, May 12.Section 14 of Republic Act 7166, an act providing for synchronized national and local elections, states that failure to file a SOCE prohibits winning candidates from assuming office, and commission of a second or subsequent failure to file a SOCE subjects the offender to perpetual disqualification to hold public office.All candidates who won or lost must submit their SOCEs within 30 days from Election Day, Salazar said.They were notified of the SOCE requirement when they filed their certificates of candidacy, he added.Salazar also said the funds for the payment of poll wat...

A 23-year-old resident of Himamaylan City was the fourth placer in the May 2022 Civil Engineer Licensure Examination, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announced Thursday, May 12.John Lewis Pabilona, a graduate of the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletes in Bacolod City, was ranked fourth with a rating of 92.90 percent.The PRC said that 5,836 out of 13,781 passed the Civil Engineer Licensure Examination.“I am shakingly grateful. I hoped for the best but expected the worst. It was a great relief that my dreams were officially realized,” Pabilona said.“I found out about it as soon as the results were released since my notifications were dedicated to the official website,” he said.Asked what his plans for the future are, he said: “I'm currently just searchi...

Presidential candidate Leni Robredo won in four districts of Negros Occidental, while Ferdinand Marcos Jr. bagged two districts and Bacolod City.Marcos won in Bacolod City and the first and fourth districts, while Robredo won in the second, third, fifth and sixth districts, Commission on Elections figures show.The following are their scores per district:Manny Pacquiao came in third in the presidential race in Bacolod and Negros Occidental.Meanwhile, the top five partylist winners in Negros are:Abang Lingkod - 181,145ACT-CIS - 50,941Uswag Ilonggo - 38,706P3PWD - 27,417Kalinga - 20,557The top five partylist winners in Bacolod are:Abang Lingkod - 77,473ACT-CIS - 9,833Malasakit@Bayanihan - 9,644P3PWD - 7,350Uswag Ilonggo - 7,157.*

A police manhunt is on for the most wanted man of Mandaue City, Cebu, who escaped police custody in Talisay City, Negros Occidental. Wednesday, May 11.The escapee was identified as Arnel Ocaña who was charged with rape and is considered the top one wanted man in Mandaue.Lt. Col. Arthur Baybayan, Talisay City police chief, said the suspect pretended he had a stomachache and had difficulty breathing so he was taken out of the detention cell and temporarily placed on a bench.When the policeman turned around, the suspect immediately escaped.The on-duty policeman was directed to submit a written explanation why the detainee was able to escape from the police station.*