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The P7 million worth of drugs seized.*PRO-6 photoThe police seized P7.561 million worth of drugs in another buy-bust operation in Silay City, Negros Occidental, Sunday night, August 28.Nabbed was 36-year-old Mark Villaran of Antonio Luna Street, Brgy. 1. He was tagged by the police as a high-value drug individual.The suspect sold four plastic sachets of suspected shabu worth P48,000 to a police poseur buyer at the entrance of Mallery 2 Subdivision in Brgy Rizal.During the bust, he yielded 1,112 grams of suspected shabu worth P7,561,600, the buy-bust money, P1,280 in cash believed to be cash proceeds, and drug paraphernalia.Prior to the bust, authorities also recovered two kilos of suspected shabu with an estimated value of P13.668 million at Brgy. Lantad which led to th...

Thirty one private schools in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City have closed, Department of Education 6 data showed Monday, August 29.Twelve schools closed permanently and 19 temporarily because of lack of students and financial constraints, the DepEd said.Of the 12 private schools that closed permanently four are in Bacolod City, four in San Carlos City, three in Silay City and one in Sagay City.Those that temporarily closed under the Negros Occidental Schools Division are seven, Silay City – six, Bacolod City - two, and Bago City, Cadiz City, Kabankalan City and Sagay City – one each.The total number of private schools that closed in Western Visays are 76, with 59 temporarily and 17 permanently, the DepEd said.*

The Kabilang-bilangan Reef in Brgy Sicaba, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, where four people drowned on Sunday will be off limits to excursionists, Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante said Monday, August 29.However, fishermen and Batay Dagat personnel will be allowed to make stops at the about 3,000-square meter reef, he added.The mayor decided to declare the reef off limits after what started out as a fun excursion on the tiny Kabilang-bilangan Reef turned into a tragedy for four at 1 p.m. Sunday.It will be off limits until polices are drawn up and safety measures are put in place, he said.Mack John Aguirre, 15, was swimming in the reef’s waters when he was carried away by strong current prompting his mother Marlyn Delfin Aguirre, 33, to try to rescue him.When she failed to ...

National Heroes Day marked during a flag raising ceremony in Valladolid, Negros Occidental, Monday, August 29.*Bfp Rsix Valladolid photoNegros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez rallied their constituents to continue fighting for freedom from all threats as the nation marked National Heroes Day on Monday, August 29.“May this celebration resonate the same messages of hope and resilience to every Bacolodnon to continue fighting and defending our freedom from any form of threat or oppression just like what our ancestors did before us, “Benitez said.“Let us honor this day by practicing a more conscientious, active, and responsible citizenship, for we are still in the course of a fight for our health, safety, recovery, and of course, freed...

The country's sugar industry getting financial boost next year.*Ronnie Baldonado photoActing Administrator David Alba of the Sugar Regulatory Administration on Monday, August 29, welcomed the announcement that the national government’s subsidy for the SRA will be increased next year.Deputy House Speaker Ralph Recto said, in a press statement Sunday, that the Department of Agriculture, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at its helm, will see its budget shoot up by 44 percent, from P71 billion this year to P102.15 billion next year. A budget subsidy of P1 billion has been earmarked for the SRA, up by 41 percent, from this year’s P712.2 million, Recto said.“We welcome the budget increase for SRA for next year’s utilization as the industry is in dire need of programs to be implem...

Rescuers trying to revive the drowning victims in Cadiz City.*PCG Cadiz photoAn excursion turned fatal at the Kabilang-Bilangan Reef in Barangay Sicaba, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, after four persons, including two minors, drowned on Sunday, August 28.The victims were on a pumpboat going to the sandbar when a 15-year-old boy fell into the water due to the strong waves.This prompted his mother, 33-year-old Marlyn Aguirre, to jump into the sea to save her son, but she, too, was swept away by the strong current.Their companion - Remymar Ocon, 31, and a 13-year-old boy - also jumped to rescue the two, but they also drowned.Attempts were made to revive the victims at the Cadiz City Emergency Clinic but they didn’t make it.They had five other companions who were also t...

Rescuers help the three persons on board a tricycle that collided with a truck at Barangay Bata, Bacolod City, on Friday, August 26.*Amity Volunteer Fire Brigade photoFive people were killed in separate accidents in Negros Occidental in three days.Killed on Friday, August 26, were 40-year-old Marciano Mahilum Jr., his 17-year-old daughter, whose name was withheld, and brother-in-law, 35-year-old Reynald Porras, of Barangay Matab-ang, Talisay City.The victims were onboard a tricycle driven by Mahilum when it collided with a truck at Barangay Bata, Bacolod City.The tricycle overtook a truck, but it collided with another truck on the opposite lane.On Saturday, August 7, a 13-year-old boy was killed at Hacienda San Jose, Barangay Katilingban, Talisay City.The tricycle d...

The two kilos of suspected shabu estimated to cost P13.668 million.*Silay PNP photoTwo sisters, tagged as high-value drug suspects, were arrested in a buy-bust operation at Brgy. Lantad, Silay City, Negros Occidental, on Sunday, August 28, which led to the recovery of P13.668 million worth of drugs.Nabbed by operatives of the Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit 6 and the Silay City Police Station were Angie Dumdumaya, 30, and her sister, Angielyn Dumdumaya, 25, both tagged by the police as high-value drug individuals.The suspects were arrested after they sold illegal drugs worth P30,000 to a police-poseur buyer.Recovered from their possession were two kilos of suspected shabu estimated to cost P13.668 million and the buy-bust money.The suspects are now detained at the...

The Negros Occidental National Science High School in Victorias City.*Victorias Mayor Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez said on Sunday, August 27, that classes will resume at the Negros Occidental National Science High School (NONSHS) on Tuesday, after they were suspended late last week when tremors were felt in the area.Strong tremors were felt in barangays 10 and 14 in Victorias City on August 24 and 25 but the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said it had not recorded any earthquakes in the area.Benitez has asked the PHIVOLCS, Mines and Geosciences Bureau, and the Department of Public Works and Highways to investigate what caused the tremors and to check on the safety of classrooms.Classes at the NONSHS were suspended late last week, but Benitez said “on Tues...