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An 11-year-old boy drowned in Hda. Camantero 1, Brgy. Guimbala-on, Silay City, Negros Occidental, at 4 p.m. Thursday, January 12.A group of children were swimming at the overflow in the area, when the victim jumped into the culvert and was swept away by strong current, the police said.The boy was trapped inside the culvert which resulted to his drowning.His playmates sought help and a crew of the Silay City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office who brought the victim to the Teresita Lopez Jalandoni Provincial Hospital but he was declared dead on arrival.*

A total of 4,476 families with 15,198 members were affected by flooding brought on by heavy rains in 41 barangays in five towns and four cities in Negros Occidental, Provincial Social Welfare Officer Merle Garcia reported at 3 p.m. Friday, January 13.There were 342 residents who evacuated. One house was destroyed and two were damaged in Barangay Cabatangan, Talisay City, while two others were also damaged in Sagay City, she said.Affected by the flooding were 7,663 residents of San Enrique, Valladolid - 5,795, Cadiz City – 878, Cauayan – 272, Candoni – 243, Sagay City - 169, Bago City – 115, Ilog – 49, and Talisay City -14.Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said the provincial government provided assistance in the form of rice, can goods and hygiene kits.Meanwhile, 55 p...

The Bacolod police seized P176, 800 in suspected shabu from a jobless man at Purok 6 Litub, Brgy Singcang-Airport, Bacolod City, 10:13 p.m. Thursday, January 12.Nabbed in the buy-bust operation was Willyzer Latiba Colanggo, alias Toto Wil, 34, of Purok 6 Litub, the police reported.The police confiscated an estimated 26 grams of shabu, the report added.The Bacolod City Drug Enforcement Unit operatives led by PCapt. Joven Mogato, who conducted the operation, also seized the P600 buy-bust money.*

The New People’s Army (NPA) denied that a rebel was killed in an encounter with the 94th Infantry Battalion at Purok Maliko-liko, Sitio Cunalom, Barangay Carabalan in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, on Monday, January 9.Ka Maoche Legislador, Apolinario Gatmaitan Command spokesperson, in a statement Wednesday said no encounter took place and killed was farmer Jose Gonzalez, 49, of Purok Maliko-liko.Gonzalez' daughter said her father was taken by eight personas who presented themselves as NPA members on the evening of January 8. After her father left she and her common-law husband heard gunshots around midnight, Legislador said.The call for "local peace talks” by Col. Michael Samson, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, is a murderous psychological warfare that is a failed attem...

The rockslide at the Eco-Translink Highway in San Carlos City Thursday morning.*San Carlos City LGU photoFlooding brought on by heavy rains has affected 3,301 residents, 1,038 of whom evacuated, in three cities and two towns in Negros Occidental, a Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) report said Thursday, January 12.A rockslide also rendered one lane of the Eco-Translink Highway in San Carlos City impassable Thursday morning.Passengers and rolling cargo were also stranded at the San Carlos City port.Flooding affected 1,116 families with 3,301 members in Sagay, Bago and Cadiz cities, and Valladolid and Cauayan towns, the PSWDO report as of 2 p.m. Thursday said.In Sagay City 161 persons were affected and two houses were damaged, while in Bago City 115...

Flooding in Sitio Moog, Barangay Vista Alegre, Ilog, Thursday.*Gilbert Pineda Belnas photoGov. Eugenio Jose Lacson has ordered the suspension of all classes in Negros Occidental on Friday, January 13, to ensure the safety of students amidst continuous heavy rainfall.Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez also extended the suspension of classes in all elementary and high schools in Bacolod City to Friday.Lacson in Executive Order No. 23-02, Series of 2023 suspended classes at all levels provincewide starting 4 p.m. on Thursday to 11:59 p.m. Friday.However, the majority of the Negros Occidental town and city mayors had issued orders suspending classes for the whole day Thursday.Lacson said he ordered the suspension of classes “in order to protect our students whose health and saf...

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson*It is good news that the substitute bill creating the Negros Island Region was approved by the House Committee on Local Government, Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said Thursday, January 12.However, “this is just very preliminary, this is just a first step. What will be more difficult I think is when this will be elevated to the Committee on Appropriations,” Lacson said.“But it’s moving toward the creation of the NIR”, he added.Lacson said he has not been able to reach Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo to set a meeting on the NIR.Degamo is opposed to its creation.“We’re still hoping that at the end of the day Gov. Degamo will support the idea of an NIR,” he said.The substitute bill seeks the creation of an NIR...

The Negros Occidental provincial government is aiming to start its bulk water project this year to ensure water security for the province, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Thursday, January 12.Under the project water will be sourced from rivers and treated before being supplied to consumers, he said.Lacson said from January to May a feasibility study will be conducted, which among others will determine the potential sites for the project, he said.After which the Public-Private Partnership Center will bring in potential investors and bidding will be conducted, Lacson said.He said the push for water security comes hand in hand with the push for food security in Negros Occidental.*