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Fr. Philip Palacios blesses the coffins of the rebels slain in Cauayan.* Philippine Army photo"P.S. We decided that we will no longer claim his remains in Negros Occ."This was contained in a letter from the parents of Vince Francis Dingding, 30, a former student leader at the University of the Philippines Cebu turned rebel, who was killed in a 15th Infantry Battalion encounter with the New People’s Army (NPA) in Cauayan, Negros Occidental, on Saturday, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) said Tuesday.Dingding was the secretary of the Southwest Negros Guerrilla Front, the NPA confirmed in a statement also on Tuesday.The handwritten letter from Romulo and Rica Dingding, addressed “To whom it may concern” and dated Monday, May 18, asked t...

SSS officials serving a notice of violation on Tuesday.*The Social Security System (SSS)-Bacolod branch conducted RACE (Run After Contribution Evaders) operations Tuesday, May 19, and issued notices of violation to five establishments.The amount of delinquency is P1,858,835.53 affecting 35 employees employed by a school, construction supplier, contractor, auto service center and a packaging supplier, Josefa Pineda, SSS Regional Communications Officer, said.SSS Bacolod branch Head Brenda Cruz and Harry Solinab of the Operations Legal Department served the notices of violation.Delinquent employers were given 15 days to settle their obligations either in full or through installment.Republic Act No. 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018, mandates employers to register t...

The effects of the dry spell are already being felt in farms in Negros Occidental and a mitigation plan is being readied, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Tuesday, May 19.The provincial government is working with the Bureau of Soils and Water Management for cloudseeding operations to induce rain, he said.“If it is possible we hope to start with that,” he said.They are also looking at using Disaster Risk Reduction and Management funds for possible financial assistance to the affected farmers, Lacson said.The Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. is also there to extend help to farmers, and we are also looking at the possibility of adding to that fund so the recovery of the farmers will be faster, Lacson added.The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office said th...

The Commission on Elections in the Negros Island Region (Comelec-NIR) has officially concluded its voter registration period, recording 241,422 applications across the region from Oct. 20, 2025, to May 18, 2026.The registration drive is in preparation for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) in November.Comelec data showed a last-minute surge on Monday — the final day of registration —with 12,385 applications processed in the NIR in a single day.The final-day turnout saw more female applicants at 6,424 beating out their male counterparts at 5,961.Throughout the seven-month registration period, female registrants consistently outnumbered males region-wide, accounting for 126,180 of the total applications compared to 115,242 malesNegros Occi...

Dr. Ayessa Hugnatan and Dr. Von Andre Aposaga *The Municipal Health Officer of Cauayan will be the new Provincial Health Officer of Negros Occidental.Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Tuesday, May 19, that Dr. Ayessa Hugnatan will assume the PHO post in about two weeks.Dr. Josephine Pahamtang, chief of the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City, has been appointed OIC of the PHO in a concurrent capacity until Hugnatan arrives, he said.The post became vacant after Dr. Girlie Pinongan retired as Provincial Health Officer on Friday.Lacson also named Dr Von Andre Aposaga as the OIC for public health service of the PHO.Hugnatan and Aposaga are young doctors whose passion is for public health, Lacson said.*

The family of a missing person has claimed the human remains found in a sugarcane field in Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, on Sunday, May 17.The bones and skull were discovered by sugarcane workers at Hacienda Jocson in Brgy. Magallon Cadre.Police said the remains were identified through personal belongings found near the area where the skeleton was discovered.The Moises Padilla Municipal Police Station is still investigating whether the remains belonged to one of the persons swept away by floodwaters during Typhoon Tino in November or to an elderly person who was reported missing in December.*

A bicycle rider died after he was hit by a taxi along the national highway in Brgy. Mabini, Valladolid, Negros Occidental, late Monday night, May 18.The victim, a resident of Pulupandan, was found unconscious on the road with visible head injuries when responding policemen arrived.Valladolid police investigation showed that around 11 p.m. the victim was crossing the road on his bicycle from Pulupandan toward the opposite side when he was hit by an oncoming white Toyota Avanza taxi traveling from Valladolid proper toward Pulupandan.Due to the impact, the victim fell on the road and sustained injuries.The taxi was later found sideways in a ditch, but its driver was nowhere to be found, the police said.The victim was rushed by Pulupandan Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction a...

An identified member of the Communist Terrorist Group voluntarily surrendered to authorities in Manjuyod, Negros Oriental, on Monday, May 18, the police said Tuesday.The Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region said the surrender took place at around 12:55 p.m. in Sitio Magba, Brgy. Panciao.Police said the operation was carried out by the 1st Maneuver Platoon of the 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office.The surrenderee also turned over a .45 caliber pistol, one magazine, and four live ammunition for a .45 caliber pistol, the police said.PRO-NIR said the surrender was part of its intensified campaign against insurgency and its continuing call for remaining CTG members to abandon armed struggle.The regional police office sa...

Mayor Mary Grace S. Arceo*The Hinigaran municipal government in Negros Occidental has officially returned to its regular five-day work schedule, moving away from its previous alternative arrangement to ensure more accessible and seamless public service delivery.Through Executive Order No. 0020, Series of 2026, signed by Mayor Mary Grace S. Arceo, all local government offices, departments, divisions, and units reverted to the standard Monday-to-Friday schedule effective May 18.Under this directive, official working hours are now set from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., in strict accordance with Civil Service Commission laws, rules, and regulations.The mayor said the restoration of the regular work week was deemed necessary to improve day-to-day coordination among local departments, facil...