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Senators Sherwin Gatchalian and Joseph Victor Ejercito, Negros Occidental Board Member Manuel Frederick Ko, Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Benitez and Rep. Emilio Yulo III (l-r) met to discuss the sugar industry on Friday, December 2.*Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez met with senators Sherwin Gatchalian and Joseph Victor Ejercito on Friday, December 2, to discuss the crafting of a plan to make the Philippine sugar industry globally competitive for it to survive.Benitez, who met with the two senators, Rep. Emilio Yulo III (Neg. Occ., 5th District) and Negros Occidental Board Member Frederick Ko in Bacolod City, called for a sugar summit in January to be attended by industry stakeholders and officials of the Department of Agriculture, Department of Agrarian Reform and other national gov...

Lawyer JR Sanchez, Emmanuel Tariman Acosta, lawyer Luchi Perez and Fr. Eryl Agus (l-r) in front of the Kabankalan City Hall.*Pablo Tariman photoThe son of a slain alleged top rebel leader in Negros Occidental arrived Friday, December 2, to claim the body of his father.Last year he was also in Negros to claim the remains of his slain mother.Emmanuel Tariman Acosta, 19, who is a BS Math second year student at the University of the Philippines Diliman, arrived from Manila to claim the body of Ericson Legaspi Acosta who died in Sitio Makilo, Barangay Camansi, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, on Wednesday, November 30.The National Democratic Front claimed his father was an NDF consultant who was picked up by government soldiers and murdered.The Philippine Army denied the ...

Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, provincial health officer, stresses the importance of early detection and treatment.*Negros Occidental health officials marked World AIDS Day on Thursday, December 1, by raising awareness on the need for early detection and treatment.The rise in HIV and AIDs cases in Negros Occidental is alarming, Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, provincial health officer, said.The message we want to send is that it is important to get tested because early detection is the key to treatment and protection, he said.Tumimbang said they conduct community-based HIV screening and assure those who seek help of confidentiality.Negros Occidental had 172 HIV cases from January to September this year, and Bacolod City has 101 placing them in second and fourth place in Western Visayas, r...

Three fake bookings at restaurants in Silay and Bago cities in Negros Occidental were made by a person pretending to be Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson on Thursday, December 1.Charina Magallanes Tan, executive assistant to the governor, said luckily the owners of the three establishments checked with the governor’s office but one establishment was swindled of P4,000.Tan said they are urging establishments to check on bookings made by phone to avoid falling victim to scammers.A resort owner in Silay got a call from a man pretending to be the governor, Tan said.He asked if she could make reservations at the resort’s restaurant for him and his group of 35 for a Department of Health and Philippine National Police meeting.The caller said the DOH officials would like to have eight b...

Dengue deaths in Negros Occidental have hit 29 this year, the Provincial Health Office (PHO) reported on Thursday, December 1.However, the number dengue cases in the province have been dropping lately, it said.The PHO report said there were 64 cases on morbidity week 46, and the cases were down to 40 on morbidity week 47.The dengue cases in Negros Occidental were 5,211 as of November 26 or an increase by 4,636 or 806.26 percent compared to last year, the PHO said.La Carlota City recorded the highest number of dengue cases at 399.The dengue deaths were in Hinigaran - four, Himamaylan City, Calatrava and Murcia - three each, Silay City, Isabela, Sagay City and Talisay City - two each, and Toboso, Victorias City, Manapla, La Castellana, EB Magalona, Pontevedra, Bago City a...

The recovered drugs in Victorias City.*More than P100,000 worth of illegal drugs were recovered in a buy-bust operation at Sitio Pasil, Brgy. 6A, Zone 3, Victorias City, Negros Occidental, on Wednesday, November 30.Nabbed was 37-year-old Lemuel Pascual, who was caught in the act selling illegal drugs.He yielded 15 grams of suspected shabu worth P102,000, the P500 marked money, P1,150 in cash, and several drug paraphernalia.The suspect is now in police custody, facing drug charges.*

The scene of the accident in Bago City on Wednesday.*Bago PNP photoA driver was killed in an accident at Barangay Calumanggan in Bago City, Negros Occidental, Wednesday night, November 30.Killed was Phil Mark Francisco, whose motorcycle rear-ended a pickup truck after it executed a u-turn.This caused Francisco’ motorcycle to swerve to the opposite lane and hit an oncoming motorcycle, driven by Charlie Estampa.Both Estampa and his rider, Raxel Bergante, suffered injuries.Meanwhile, the ambulance that responded also met an accident after it hit a truck loaded with sugarcane that stopped on the road because of the accident.The ambulance driver and his passengers suffered injuries, too.

Ericson Legaspi Acosta, alias Raffy, in a photo released by the Army.*One of two rebels killed in an encounter with government soldiers in Kabankalan City was a top New People’s Army (NPA) leader in Negros Island, a 303rd Infantry Brigade spokesman said on Thursday, December 1.Ericson Legaspi Acosta, alias Raffy, of Ligao City, Albay, was the deputy secretary of Komiteng Rehiyon- Negros Cebu Bohol Siquijor (KR-NCBS) and the head of Political Unified Committee of the NPA in the Visayas at the time of his death, Capt. Marvin Rosal, Civil-Military Operations Officer of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, said.Ka Bayani Obrero, National Democratic Front - Negros spokesperson, earlier said Acosta is an NDF consultant.Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, 303rd Brigade commander, said the deat...

The confirmed cholera cases in Negros Occidental have hit 63, and Talisay City still has the most number of cases.So far only one water source in EB Magalona has tested positive for Vibrio cholerae so the sources of most of the cholera cases have not been determined, Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, provincial health officer, said Thursday, December 1.The cholera cases could be caused by unsanitary practices or food-borne, he said.Talisay City has 22 confirmed cholera cases, Silay City – 21 including one death, EB Magalona – 13 including one death, and Victorias City – three, all in the Third District of Negros Occidental, the Provincial Health Office (PHO) reported.In the Second District, Cadiz City has three cases and Manapla - one, it addedDr. Jessica Fama, PHO Medical Speciali...