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A man was killed and another was injured when a shooting broke out at a wake in Barangay Japitan, Escalante City, Negros Occidental, on Sunday, August 21.Killed was 33-year-old Jamar Paulino, while injured was Benjie Sabino, 50, who was said to be the target of the shooting.The victims and the suspect identified as 52-year-old Eduardo Mahilum were having a drinking spree at the wake.While Sabino and Mahilum were having a conversation, the suspect showed his firearm to the victim, who advised the latter to keep his weapon as there were many people attending the vigil.This prompted Sabino to leave Mahilum and sit beside Paulino, who was watching others engaged in a card game.Mahilum then went to Sabino and shot him in the face, but the bullet went through and hit Paulino ...

The baby was found buried here.*A newborn baby was found buried alive at a public cemetery in Pulupandan town Sunday, August 21.But hours later, it succumbed to loss of air after being inside a shoebox for more than three hours.Gravedigger Ramie Aurelio dug up the baby after a co-worker informed him about the cries at the burial site.Cristel Haro, 22, and Caesar Valdivieso, 23, reportedly went to the cemetery to bury their child. The couple said that the woman had a miscarriage and they would process their documents the following day.Pulupandan police chief Capt. Ryan Villasario, said the two kept secret the girl's pregnancy from her parents, as their other son is 10 months old.The police is now preparing an infanticide case against the parents.*

The opening of classes in schools under the Department of Education - Division of Negros Occidental went smoothly on Monday, August 22, its spokesperson Ian Arnold Arnaez said.However, in areas where there were heavy rains the COVID-19 protocol requiring learners to line up in an orderly manner on entering the school could not be followed, he said.The children were allowed to enter by batch and their mothers who had umbrellas were allowed into the schools to bring them to their classrooms, Arnaez said.The mothers were then asked to leave the school premises, he added.There are 8,000 classrooms under the Division of Negros Occidental that need repairs, he also said.Aside from those damaged by Typhon “Odette”, there are those that need repair because of old age, he said. ...

All Disaster Risk Reduction Management Councils in Western Visayas were placed on standby protocol Monday, August 22, as the region was identified as a very low risk area for the effects of Tropical Storm “Florita”, Regional Director Jose Roberto Nuñez of the Office of Civil Defense said.This response protocol was activated to ensure that preparedness measures are in place despite the classification of the region as a low risk area, he said.“Florita” continues to maintain its strength while moving slowly westward over the Philippine sea, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA)  reported at 8 p.m. Monday.The center of “Florita” was estimated  at 145 km East of Casiguran, Aurora (16.2°N, 123.5°E), with maximum sustained ...

The Department of Health reported on Monday, August 22, that a fourth monkeypox case has been detected in the country, but the DOH 6 could not confirm a report circulating that the person infected was from Iloilo.The DOH central office said the fourth person hit with monkeypox in the country is a 25-year-old Filipino with no documented travel history to or from countries with confirmed cases of the disease.The case had a positive result for monkeypox via real time polymerase chain reaction test on August 19 conducted by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, it said.“The case is being cared for and is admitted in an isolation facility. Intensive case investigation and contact tracing is ongoing,” the DOH said.About 14 close contacts of the fourth case have been ident...

The newly elected Philippine Councilors League - Negros Occidental chapter officers.* photo courtesy of Ryan GamboaLa Carlota Councilor Julius Asistio was elected president of the Philippine Councilors League - Negros Occidental chapter at L’Fisher Hotel in Bacolod City, Monday afternoon, August 22.Asistio won with 270 votes over his opponent Binalbagan Councilor Jerry Yulo who garnered 28 votes.Virgie Pastor of  Escalante City won as secretary general over Jodybonne Octaviano of Hinoba-an by a vote of  195-92.La Carlota Councilor Julius Asistio (center) with his parents Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer and Rep. Juliet Marie Ferrer (Neg. Occ., 4th District)*Those who won unopposed were  vice president Ryan Gamboa of Silay City, treasurer Richard Jaojoco - Toboso, auditor Ja...

Sugar Regulatory Administration board members Pablo Luis Azcona and Ma. Mitzi Mangwag, and David Alba, acting SRA administrator, (l-r) at Malacañang Monday afternoon, August 22.*President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the newly appointed members of the Sugar Regulatory Administration Board on Monday, August 22, to immediately come out with Sugar Order No. 1 setting the allocations for all sugar produced in the country for crop year 2022-23.The newly appointed members of the Board proposed the classification of all of the sugar produced in the country for the new crop year as “B” for the domestic market, David Alba, Sugar Regulatory Administration acting administrator, said.There will be no allocation of sugar for the US Sugar Quota.The president ordered us to prepare Sugar O...

The huge crowd at the Ayala Malls Capitol Central for the DSWD payout on Saturday.* Screen grab from Xian Lim videoA huge crowd flocked to the Ayala Malls Capitol Central in Bacolod City to avail of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) cash assistance to indigent students on Saturday,, August 20.Secretary Erwin Tulfo has apologized for the chaos that marred the first day of the agency’s distribution of cash aid for indigent students in various parts of the country, including Bacolod City.Those seeking cash assistance, who formed a long line outside the Ayala Malls Capitol Central and rushed into the building when it opened, were from Bacolod City and Negros Occidental.There were 587 clients in the province who received P2,203,000 on Saturday, May Rago-Cas...