Top Stories

Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez delivers his first six months report as mayor of Victorias City*Steven Laborte photoMayor Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez on Monday, January 16, said his administration is pushing for the creation of a Sidlak Victorias Global City.Benitez, who delivered his first six months report as mayor of Victorias at the Victorias Arts and Cultural Center, said it has been challenging but fulfilling.“Technology can be a big help in making the bureaucracy more efficient”, he said.Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez with his father Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and his mother, Nikki* Steven Laborte photoHe said Victorias will be among the first cities in the Visayas to adopt integrated digital technology development, through its Sidlak City DNA.The Sidla...

Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District)*Siquijor that is currently under Central Visayas wants to become part of the Negros Island Region (NIR) because of its proximity, Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said Monday, January 16.A substitute bill filed by Benitez and the rest of the Negros Occidental representatives, seeks the creation of the NIR, which will include Siquijor.The bill was approved by the House Committee on Local Government on January 10.Benitez said its takes five hours to travel from Siquijor to Cebu, and 30 minutes to an hour to Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental.It means Siquijor would be closer to offices of national government agencies as part of NIR, he addedBefore Siquijor became an independent province, historically it w...

The driver of a fuel tanker that hit a motorcycle and caused the death of two at the intersection of Bangga Cory and the Circumferential Road in Brgy. Taculing, Bacolod City has been released from police custody.Released from police custody on Saturday was Laurence Dalida Pandes, 28, of Prk. Sambag, Brgy. Alijis, Bacolod, after an initial settlement was reached with the families of the victims, Capt. Dax Santillan, Police Station 6 chief, said Monday, January 16.Killed in the accident was the motorcycle driver Jim Carl Huertas Macaya, 26, of Barangay Singcang and his girlfriend Angelu Magdaraog, 20, of Barangay Handumanan, Bacolod.Pandes was traveling from west and executing a right turn when he accidentally hit the motorcycle, a police report said.*

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson *Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Monday, January 16, that the rejection by the New People’s Army (NPA) of the call for local peace talks will not deter the government from continuing to entice its members to surrender.“We will continue to encourage their followers to come down, surrender their arms, and benefit from the programs of government,” he said.He cited the Task Force to End Local Armed Conflict, the multi-agency body created to assist former rebels.“It does not mean just because they rejected the local peace talks we will do nothing, we will continue to entice their followers to join the government,” Lacson said.The NPA in Negros, in a statement last week, said the call for local peace talks by Col. ...

The Sugar Regulatory Administration should provide safeguards to ensure that the volume and arrival of the buffer stock will be calibrated, so it does not depress domestic millgate prices, NFSP president Enrique Rojas said.*Ronnie Baldonado photoThe Sugar Regulatory Administration should provide safeguards to ensure that the volume and arrival of the buffer stock will be calibrated, so it does not depress domestic millgate prices, Rojas said.“A buffer stock is needed to supply the domestic market while sugar mills have not yet achieved peak production. The lack of a buffer stock is precisely what caused domestic sugar prices to increase to unprecedented levels last July 2022 up to now,” he said.The Sugar Regulatory Administration should provide safeguards to ensure that the vol...

A farmer who joined a drinking spree was stabbed to death at a friend’s house at Purok Caimito, Barangay Quezon, San Carlos City in Negros Occidental 7 p.m. Saturday, January 14.Killed was Jesus Bacalso Manaytay, 34, of Purok Caimito.The suspect Vicente Dagohoy Badoy Jr. of the same barangay voluntarily surrendered to barangay officials.The suspect had invited the victim to his house for a drinking session, the police said.While at the house the victim created alarm and scandal and the suspect advised him to calm down. However, they had a heated argument and a commotion followed, the police said.Badoy stabbed Manaytay several times on his back causing his untimely death, the police added.The suspect is now detained at the San Carlos Police Station.*

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez turned over eight big motorcycles to the Bacolod City Police Office headed by Col. Joseph Martir on Friday.*Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said the assistance of the Negros Occidental provincial government officials to Bacolod City does not need to be formalized anymore.Now that his administration has gotten through the six-month period, they feel that their assistance to the city does not have to be formalized, Benitez said at a press conference on Friday, January 13.The consultants were Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz for Administrative Matters and Systems Review, Provincial Economic Enterprise Development Division head Lucille Gelvolea for Special Projects and Economic Affairs, and Dr. Mary Ann P. Maestral, Teresita L. Jalandoni...