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Sep232026 by Mark L. GarciaNo Comments

All 106 BJMP-NIR personnel test negative for illegal drugs

All 106 personnel of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology-Negros Island Region tested negative for illegal drugs during a drug testing activity in Bacolod City on Monday, Sept. 21.BJMP-NIR said the testing covered personnel assigned to its Regional Office and was conducted as part of its drug-free workplace program.The activity started at around 8 a.m. and was facilitated by nurses and personnel of the agency's Health Service Division.Samples from the 106 personnel were collected and handled in accordance with established testing protocols, the BJMP said.No issues or incidents were recorded during the testing, while regular operations at the regional office continued, it added.BJMP-NIR said drug testing among its personnel forms part of its efforts to maintain acc...

Sep232026 by Mark L. GarciaNo Comments

Cigarettes, improvised knife seized in surprise search at Bacolod jail

Police, Top Stories

An improvised knife, 100 sticks of cigarettes and 115 other prohibited items were confiscated during a surprise search at the Metro Bacolod District Jail-Male Dormitory on Monday, Sept. 21.The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology-Negros Island Region said the surprise greyhound operation was conducted from 6 a.m. to 7:10 a.m. to check for contraband inside the jail facility.The operation was led by Metro Bacolod District Jail-Male Dormitory Warden Supt. Richard Laure and involved five jail personnel and 25 Jail Officer 1 trainees.BJMP-NIR said personnel recovered 100 sticks of Camel cigarettes, one improvised knife and 115 other items classified as nuisance contraband.The confiscated items were documented and turned over to the jail's designated contraband custodian for p...

Sep232026 by Mark L. GarciaNo Comments

P102,000 shabu, firearm seized in Kabankalan drug bust

Police, Top Stories

A 35-year-old man was arrested after police seized P102,000 worth of suspected shabu and a firearm during a buy-bust operation in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, on Tuesday, Sept. 22.Police identified the suspect as alias “Jojo,” a resident of Zone 1, Brgy. Hilamonan, Kabankalan, and classified him as a street-level individual.The Kabankalan City Police Station conducted the operation at around 10:29 a.m. in Zone 1 after receiving information that the suspect was allegedly involved in the distribution of illegal drugs in Kabankalan and Himamaylan cities.Police said surveillance and validation operations were conducted before the buy-bust.Operatives recovered about 15 grams of suspected shabu with a standard drug price of P102,000, along with marked money, cash, a cellul...

Sep232026 by Mark L. GarciaNo Comments

Motorcycle driver killed, minor back rider hurt in Moises Padilla crash

Police, Top Stories

A 46-year-old motorcycle driver died while his minor back rider was injured in a road crash in Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, on Tuesday night, Sept. 22.Police identified the driver as alias “Ivan,” a businessman, while his back rider was a female student. Both are residents of Brgy. Cabacungan, La Castellana.The two were traveling on a Kawasaki Barako 175 motorcycle along the Magallon-Moises Padilla Provincial Road in Brgy. Magallon Cadre at around 9:10 p.m. when the incident occurred.Initial police investigation showed that the motorcycle was heading from Moises Padilla proper toward Brgy. Cabacungan when Ivan allegedly attempted to overtake another vehicle.Police said the motorcycle wobbled, causing the driver to lose control and throwing both riders onto the road....

Sep232026 by Mark L. GarciaNo Comments

P102,000 shabu seized in Santa Catalina buy-bust

Negros Oriental, Police, Top Stories

A 26-year-old man was arrested after authorities seized about P102,000 worth of suspected shabu during a buy-bust operation in Santa Catalina, Negros Oriental.In a press release on Sept. 23, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Negros Island Region identified the suspect as alias “Joseph,” a resident of Brgy. Tinago, Bayawan City.He was arrested in Brgy. Caranoche, Santa Catalina, at around 2:05 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 20.Operatives recovered three medium-sized sachets containing approximately 15 grams of suspected shabu with a standard drug price of P102,000.Authorities also recovered buy-bust money, a transparent plastic container, black pouch, glass tube pipe and a mobile phone.The operation was conducted by PDEA-NIR's Negros Oriental Provincial Office, Intelligence and ...

Sep232026 by Mary Judaline PartlowNo Comments

PBBM peace program aids 131 PAMANA groups in NIR

Business, Community, Negros Oriental, Top Stories

A total of 131 livelihood associations in the Negros Island Region (NIR) have received or are scheduled to receive PHP300,000 each in seed capital under the government’s PAyapa at MAsaganang PamayaNAn (PAMANA) program, an official said Tuesday, Sept. 22.Dan Donald S. Candare, PAMANA Project Development Officer 3 of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-NIR, said the program has allocated PHP39.3 million for the 131 PAMANA Livelihood Project Associations (PLPAs) in the region.“The associations, with a combined membership of 1,969 individuals, are located in vulnerable and conflict-affected communities,” Candare said on Tuesday.The livelihood funding is provided by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) as part of Pres...

Sep232026 by Mark L. GarciaNo Comments

DSWD opens satellite office in Ilog for southern Negros communities

Community, Top Stories

The Department of Social Welfare and Development-Negros Island Region opened its fourth Social Welfare and Development Satellite Office in Brgy. Dancalan, Ilog, Negros Occidental, on Wednesday, Sept. 23.DSWD-NIR said the new satellite office will provide communities in southern Negros Occidental with closer access to the agency's social protection programs and services.The office is the fourth SWAD satellite facility established in the Negros Island Region as the agency expands its presence outside its regional offices.Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian and DSWD-NIR Regional Director Arwin Razo led the inauguration, which included a ribbon-cutting and blessing of the facility.Rep. Mercedes “Cheding” Alvarez (Neg. Occ., 6th District) also attended the inauguration and e...

Sep222026 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Aid to RSSI-hit sugarcane farmers, workers in Negros to hit P1.9B before year ends: Gatchalian

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DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian in Bacolod City Tuesday, Sept. 22.*CPG photoThe Department of Social Welfare and Development’s ongoing distribution of Emergency Cash Transfers (ECT) to small sugarcane farmers and workers whose crops have been destroyed by red-striped soft scale insects in Negros Island will hit P1.9 billion before the end of this year, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said Tuesday, Sept. 22.The distribution will cover about 190,000 beneficiaries in Negros Occidental and Oriental who will receive a little over P10,000 each, said Gatchalian, who joined the 2026 Bayani Ka! Cum Tatak KALAHI-CIDSS LGU Awards and Performance-Based Grant for Sustainability at the SM Sky Hall in Bacolod City.They will make sure the distribution is completed as soon as possible, he said....

Sep222026 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

NEPC power rates drop to P14.2487/kWh in September, down 3 centavos

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ngr. Joe-Mel S. Zaporteza, NEPC Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, explains the power rates.*CPG photoThere will be a minimal decrease in Negros Electric Power Corp. (NEPC) electricity rates for September, despite a secondary price cap (SPC) ordered by the Energy Regulatory Commission in the Visayas and Mindanao spot market.Negros Electric Power Corp. rates will be P14.2487 per kilowatt-hour in September, 3 centavos lower than last month, Engr. Joe-Mel S. Zaporteza, NEPC Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, announced at a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 22.Last month’s rate was P14.2787 per kWh.NEPC is just releasing its consumers' bills for August 16 to Sept. 16 because it waited for the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines'...

Sep222026 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Albee urges priority areas for Visayas power plants, new price caps

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Bacolod Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer (Neg. Occ., 4th District) at the joint briefing.* Albee Benitez FB page photoDeputy House Speaker and Bacolod Representative Alfredo Abelard "Albee" Benitez urged government energy officials to identify priority areas for new power plants and retroactively implement electricity price caps to cushion consumers from recurring outages across the Visayas region.These were stressed during a joint briefing on Monday, Sept. 21, conducted by the House Committees on Energy, Visayas Development, and Legislative Franchises, Benitez said in a Facebook post on Tuesday..The meeting was called to seek explanations from the Department of Energy (DOE) and its attached agencies regarding chronic power outages in the Visayas.Beni...