Top Stories

Former COA state auditor Marilou Reyes, and lawyers Romeo Carlos Ting Jr., Lyzander Dilag, Pacifico Maghari III and Karol Joseph Chiu (l-r) at the press conference Tuesday.*Mayor-elect  Alfredo  “Albee” Benitez has  red-flagged more than P1.5 billion  in  Bacolod City government  transactions for investigation,  his spokesperson  Lyzander “Bong”  Dilag announced  Tuesday, June 28.Benitez on his assumption of office will issue an executive order creating a committee, dubbed the truth commission, which will correct the errors of the past and ensure that they do not happen again, Dilag said at a press conference at the Negros Residences in Bacolod City.“To achieve our goal of good governance, it may be a necessary consequence to ho...

Bacolod City and 11 local government units (LGUs) in Negros Occidental will be under Alert Level 1 from July 1 to 15, presidential spokesman Martin Andanar announced Tuesday, June 28.The 11 LGUs are Cadiz City, Candoni, Talisay City,   Victorias City, Enrique B. Magalona, La Carlota City, Pontevedra, Pulupandan, Sagay City, San Enrique, and Valladolid, he said.The 20 other LGUs of Negros Occidental will remain under Alert Level 2.In Negros Oriental placed under Alert Level 1 until July 15 are Amlan, Bacong, Dauin, Dumaguete City Valencia and Zamboanguita,   while the rest of the province will be under Alert Level 2,  Andanar said.Other areas in Western Visayas under Alert Level 1 are Aklan,  Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo Province, and Iloilo City....

Former Bacolod mayor Monico Puentevella* The Ombudsman has dismissed a criminal complaint filed in 2017   against former Bacolod Mayor Monico Puentevella and three others    for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for lack of probable cause.Also dismissed was an administrative case for misconduct filed against the four for lack of substantial evidence. The dismissal of the cases was approved by Ombudsman Samuel Martires on Dec. 2, 2021, and released to the media on Tuesday, June 28.The other respondents in the case   were Jerome Solinap, then   Bacolod Bids and Awards Committee chairman, Assistant City Engineer Josephus Cerna and maintenance foreman Harry James Magbanua.The complaints filed by Samu...

Dengue cases in Negros Occidental have further increased by 605 percent from January 1 to June 18 compared to the same period last year, the Department of Health in Western Visayas reported on Monday, June 27.Negros Occidental had 140 new cases from June 12 to 18 for a total of 1,368 cases and seven deaths this year, which is still the highest in Western Visayas, the DOH said.Bacolod City’s dengue cases from January 1 to June 18 increased by 153 percent compared to last yearThe city had 22 new cases from June 12 to 18 for a total of 238 and four deaths, the DOH said.The dengue cases in Western Visayas hit 3,653 as of June 18, or an increase of 298 percent compared to last year.The region has 24 dengue deaths this year, the DOH added.Aklan has  131 dengue cases ...

The body of the shooting victim was found at a garbage dump in Barangay 8*The body of another person who was shot to death in Bacolod City was found in a garbage dump at Palanca Road in Barangay 8 at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 28.This brings the shooting incidents in Bacolod City to 13 with 10 persons killed in June, Lt. Col. Sherlock Gabana, Bacolod police spokesperson, said.The victim was identified as Mark Borbon Decolongon, 37, of  Purok Woodstock, Brgy. Tangub, Bacolod City."He is a known drug user and seller, and thief", Gabana said.The victim sustained gunshot wounds on his neck and chest, the police said. Recovered from the crime scene were two empty shells of a .45 caliber pistol, the police added.*

Mayor Evelio  Leonardia, whose term  ends on  Thursday, June 30, leaves behind infrastructure projects worth over P1 billion based on a consolidated report submitted by the City Engineer's Office (CEO) covering   January 2021  to March 2022.The amount will hit P3 billion as the CEO has yet to include the P350 million appropriations for the already completed new activity center and buildings at the  Bacolod City College, the P800 million state-of-the-art MassKara Coliseum,  and  museum that received P260 million  from the national government through Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, a press release from  the Bacolod City Government Center said Tuesday, June 28.Leonardia said the infrastructure undertakings for 2021 and the early part of ...

Talisay Mayor Neil Lizares takes his oath before Rep. Francisco Benitez during the inauguration and oathtaking ceremony at the Talisay City Public Plaza, Tuesday, June 28.*Numerous town and city officials took their oaths of office Tuesday, June 28.In Talisay  mayor Neil Lizares and  vice mayor-elect  Nicolai Jalandoni led the oath taking rites of the city officials before  Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ.,  3rd District).Isabela mayor-elect Irene Montilla, vice mayor-elect Juan Miguel Montilla, and Sannguniang Bayan members  Eduardo Española, Raymund Gerard Montilla, Joe Al Williams, Arjay Ansag and Rene Iturriaga took their oaths of office before Negros Occidental  Gov. Eugenio Jose  Lacson at the Negros Residences in Bacolod City.La Castellana mayor Rhumyla Nicor Mangil...

Three proposed power plants   targeted to generate 362 megawatts could make Negros Occidental self-reliant in the next three years, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Monday, June 27.“If that happens the whole province will prosper because we will have available energy at low cost,” Diaz said.He cited the proposed 300-megawatt Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) power plant of   Reliance Energy Development Inc., a subsidiary of San Miguel Corp., in San Carlos City, the 32-megawatt hydroelectric power plant of Alson’s Energy in Bago City and the planned 30-megawatt combined solar power and biomass plant in Hinoba-an town by the Zabaleta group.The Negros Occidental Sangguniang Panlalawigan granted a Resolution of No Objection on June 14 for the construction ...