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Sugar Board members Pablo Luis Azcona and Mitzi Mangwag and Acting SRA Administrator David John Thaddeus Alba (l-r)*Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said he trust that the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) officials will look out for the welfare of the planters amid concerns that the latest order granting the importation of 440,000 metric tons of sugar will drive down domestic millgate prices.“I trust our sugar leaders, especially in the SRA who are composed of Negrenses, that they will be looking at the welfare of our planters, especially our small planters, who are a big majority right now,” Lacson said on Thursday, February 16.“I’ve always said what’s important is to determine the right volume and the timing of the importation. Right now there seems to be a con...

Police inspect the scene of the shooting incident.*PNP photoA Victorias City barangay kagawad was shot dead at Bangga Pepe, Brgy San Jose, E B Magalona in Negros Occidental 6:10 p.m. Wednesday, February 5.Killed was Ian Batiancila Negrido, 41.Negrido was riding on his motorcycle headed north when he was shot by an unidentified suspect or suspects, the police said.Bystanders heard six gun shots coming from the national highway and found a bleeding person lying on the road.Negrido was brought to the Teresita Lopez Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City but was pronounced dead on arrival.One of the motives for the killing of Negrido could be related to his work as a building safety officer, the police said.*

Firefighters battling the blaze at Purok Magtiayon, Brgy. 10, Bacolod City.*Salvador Bonilla photoFire destroyed 21 houses and damaged 10 others in a congested area in Purok Magtiayon, Brgy. 10, Bacolod City, shortly before noon Thursday, February 16, Chief Inspector Rodel Legaspi, Bacolod fire marshal, said.Asuncion Rolaña said everything they owned was destroyed by the fire, including a sack of rice they had just bought.Rolaña said she was cooking spaghetti for the birthday of her 8-year-old grandchild when she saw that the fire had hit her neighbors’ houses prompting her to flee.Firefighters at Purok Magtiayon, Brgy. 10, Bacolod City.*Stephen Sy photoSidewalk vendor Jenny Arosa said when she arrived the fire had already destroyed her house. No one was home when the f...

The opening of the Gaisano Grand Mall in Silay City was delayed Thursday following the discovery of the robbery*Romeo Subaldo photoRobbers stole an undetermined amount of jewelries and cash from a stall at a mall in Barangay Mambulac, Silay City, Negros Occidental, which was discovered Thursday morning, February 16.Three unidentified persons forcibly entered the Gaisano Grand Mall by making a hole in the wall of the grocery area facing a vacant lot, the police said.The suspects then cut the roll-up door connecting the grocery store to the tenants’ kiosk area and went to the Yung Luck Kiosk owned by Junie Diam.The robbers removed the vault from the Yung Luck Kiosk, and brought it near a rest room where they forcibly opened it and took the jewelries and cash, the police said....

Dengue cases in Western Visayas from January 1 to February 4 hit 569, the Department of Health (DOH) 6 reported Wednesday, February 15.The WV dengue cases this year are 172 percent higher than the 209 cases in the same period last year.Negros Occidental still has the highest number of cases in Western Visayas with 150, followed by Iloilo province with 116, Aklan - 81, Antique -64, Bacolod City – 52, Iloilo City – 51, Capiz – 43, and Guimaras – 12.Of the seven dengue deaths in WV this year, Negros Occidental and Bacolod City have one each.*

A warehouse rented by a firm that produces bottled water at the Eco-Tourism National Highway in Brgy Rizal, San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, was robbed Monday, February 13.Stolen from the warehouse vault of Philippine Spring Water Resources Inc. was P300,000.Junefer Ursal, 43, an area sales supervisor of the firm, said they were about to open the corrugated gate of the warehouse when they discovered that the padlock was destroyed.They also discovered that the door to the main office was damaged.The firm’s vault contained P300,000 in cash with assorted customer's checks, the police was told.*

Rodel Penelomio Castor was killed at Hda. Lopez, Brgy. 10, Victorias City.*PNP photoA Victorias resident who was killed while walking his 7-year-old daughter to school had previously been jailed for homicide, the police said Wednesday, February 15.Rodel Penelomio Castor, 45, was shot to death at Hda. Lopez, Brgy. 10, Victorias City, Negros Occidental, at 7:50 a.m. on Valentine’s Day, February 14.The victim was walking with his daughter to school when suddenly two unidentified persons pointed a gun at him and ordered him to lie down on the ground.He was shot on the right side of his body and in the mouth, SSgt. Cristan Palmes, investigator assigned to the case, said Wednesday.The police are eyeing revenge as a possible motive for the killing.Castor was jailed for hom...