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A 12-year-old girl drowned in a river at Barangay Tooy, Himamaylan City in Negros Occidental Saturday afternoon, May 22.The victim, whose name was withheld by the police, and her minor friends went to the river to play and take a bath.A few minutes later, the friends noticed that the victim was gone so they searched for her. After an hour, they saw her body submerged in the water.The victim was brought by the Himamaylan rescue team to the Governor Valeriano M. Gatuslao Hospital where she was declared dead on arrival by the attending physician.The cadaver of the victim was then brought to a funeral home for a post-mortem examination.*

Rizal PNP photoA suspected drug group leader in Negros Occidental was found dead in Rizal province on Wednesday, the police reported Friday, May 21.Killed was Michael Divinagracia, the alleged leader of the Divinagracia drug group in Silay City.His body, along with an unidentified man, was discovered along the highway at Barangay Pinugay in Baras town.Lt. Col. Robert Petate, Silay police chief, said that they closely coordinated with the Baras Police Station for the identification of the victim.He said Divinagracia’s driver’s license was found on his body and that his photos also matched their records.The have yet to talk to Divinagracia’s family regarding the transport of the cadaver from Luzon, Petate said.Petate said that the victim had an arrest warrant for ...

Valladolid LGU photoThe mayor of Valladolid town in Negros Occidental tested positive for COVID-19 Friday, May 21.Mayor Enrique Miravalles will isolate at the Mambukal Resort in Murcia, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.Negros Occidental had 1,535 active COVID-19 cases Friday, the Provincial Incident Management Team reported.Meanwhile, 50 more Negros Occidental provincial government employees were vaccinated against COVID-19 at the Negros Residences in Bacolod City Friday, Diaz said.Forty had AstraZeneca and 10 had Sinovac jabs, Diaz said.The vaccination of four other employees was deferred because their blood pressure went up, he added.The Barangay Kapitolyo Vaccination Program will resume Monday, he said.On Thursday, 221 employees were vaccinate...

Bacolod City has run out of first dose COVID-19 vaccines, but second dose jabs are still ongoing, City Administrator Em Ang said Friday, May 21.She said 29,407 Bacolod residents had been vaccinated with AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines as of Thursday.The city government will resume with its first dose vaccination drive when more vaccines from the national government arrive, Ang, who is also executive director of the Bacolod Emergency Operations Center, said.They were informed that Bacolod will receive 5,850 doses of Pfizer vaccines in June, Ang said.AstraZeneca, Sinovac and Sputnik V vaccines have also been promised but we do not know how many doses and when they will arrive, she said.Ang said the last of the first dose vaccines were being administered at the Ayala Mall...

Two Bacolod residents were sentenced to life imprisonment for the illegal sale of shabu, while a mechanic was acquitted on Friday, May 21.Executive Judge Raymond Joseph Javier of the Bacolod Regional Trial Court Branch 52 sentenced Joy Fernandez Tornilla and Roel Paciño Illustrisimo to life imprisonment after finding them guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, and acquitted Roy Gonzales Guzon.Tornilla was apprehend for selling .0089 gram of shabu for P300 to a police poseur buyer at Purok Kingfisher A, Barangay 16, Bacolod, on Oct. 19, 2019 for which the judge sentenced her to life imprisonment and to pay a fine of P500,000.On her arrest seven more sachets of shabu weighing .8119 gram, and an improvised tooter were recovered f...

The House Committee on Appropriations approved the Bayanihan 3 bill, a stimulus to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Friday morning, May 21, Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said.“This brings the bill one step closer to fruition…It is a crucial step for the passage of this comprehensive lifeline measure,” said Benitez, who is chairman of the Bayanihan to Arise as One bill, also known as Bayanihan 3, technical working group.The P405.6 billion Bayanihan 3 when approved into law will provide P2,000 in assistance to all Filipinos, aid to families via the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and wage subsidies for MSMEs, Benitez said.It will also provide unemployment assistance via the Department of Labor and Employment, nutrition for child...

San Carlos PIO photoMayor Renato Gustilo issued an executive order Friday, May 21, restricting travel through the port of San Carlos City in Negros Occidental to essential business, to curb the rise in COVID-19 cases.Gustilo in Executive Order No. 87 Series of 2021 set the guidelines for inbound and outbound essential travel through the port of San Carlos.Essential travel allowed through the port of San Carlos are the transport of rolling cargoes, government Authorized Persons Outside of Residence on official trips, work-related travel of essential workers, medical or patient travel, and other essential travel as determined by the EOC.Returning residents will be allowed to pass through the port of San Carlos if there is prior Local Government Unit coordination and they are ...