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Chiska Rhian Agudon, Alessandrea Pescasiosa, Philip Lui Deocadiz, Sheiny Czarine Duran and Mikaela Aguilar (l-r) during the Open World Penang Dancesport Championships in Malaysia.*The Kansilay Dancesport Team (KDST) brought honor to the Philippines after winning top awards at two prestigious international competitions in Malaysia this August, proving that their dance is fueled not only by skill but also by purpose.Guided by Head Coach Philip Lui Deocadiz, the team captured multiple medals at the Open World Penang Dancesport Championship on August 2–3 and the Negeri Sembilan International Dancesport Championship on August 9.Both events drew elite competitors from across Asia and beyond, Deocadiz said.But beyond the glamour of the stage, the team danced to raise awareness and...

The tourist rest area in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, is set to open on Aug. 28*The Department of Tourism (DOT) will open tourist rest areas (TRAs) in the cities of Kabankalan and Sipalay in southern Negros Occidental as part of the agency’s infrastructure support for key destinations in Negros Island Region.Sipalay City supervising tourism officer Jerick Lacson said on Tuesday, August 19 that they are now complying with requirements and awaiting the conduct of soil boring test before construction can proceed.“Our proposed location is at Poblacion Beach, so it would be very accessible to visitors,” he added.Last month, representatives from the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority conducted an inspection and assessment of the proposed site for the TRA....

Troops of the 11th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army render honors for the late Pfc. Julian Redondo Oracion at Dumaguete-Sibulan Airport on Monday*PNA/Mary Judaline F. Partlow photo The body of the late Pfc. Julian Redondo Oracion, a Scout Ranger killed in a clash with suspected rebels in Oriental Mindoro last week, was transported to Negros Oriental on Monday. August 18. Oracion, 26, was one of three soldiers from the First Scout Ranger Regiment of the Philippine Army killed in action during an encounter with suspected New People’s Army rebels in Baco town on Aug. 12. He was from La Libertad, Negros Oriental. A Philippine Air Force C-130 aircraft brought his remains to the Dumaguete-Sibulan Airport. The 11th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, headed b...

San Carlos Mayor Renato Gustilo* Mayor Renato Gustilo has asked the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate the report that three flood control projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) worth P306 million were undertaken in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental.The DPWH national office wrote to him for confirmation that there were three flood control projects completed in San Carlos City by contractors who are not from Negros, Gustilo told DIGICAST NEGROS on Monday, August 18.He said they wrote back to the DPWH that they never received such big projects from the contractors named.What I know is that the flood control projects here were undertaken by contractors from Bacolod under the DPWH District, he said.Gustilo said the DPWH was aski...

The undistributed BacCHP cards*Bacolod Mayor Greg Gasataya is questioning why about 8,000 Bacolod Comprehensive Health Program (BacCHP) cards had not been distributed to their recipients.At a press conference on Monday, August 18, Gasataya said they discovered three weeks ago that thousands of BacCHP cards produced during the previous administration had not been released.He has asked Secretary to the Mayor Marty Go, the current BacCHP focal person, to write a letter to the former BacCHP head for an explanation, stating that based on their count, about 8,000 cards were not released to the people of Bacolod.Go said a notice to explain was issued to former BacCHP focal person Mae Cuaycong regarding the 8,000 undistributed cards.Cuaycong responded that the figure was inaccu...

Bacolod Mayor Greg Gasataya at his press conference on Monday* Ronnie Baldonado photoMayor Greg Gastaya said the Bacolod City government will arrest persons caught littering in Bacolod City and enforce penalties as part of its stepped up campaign to clear waterways of trash to prevent flooding.Gasataya, at a press conference on Monday, August 18, said he met with the heads of the City Legal Office and the Bacolod Environment and Natural Resources Office to discuss the implementation of City Ordinance 531.The anti-littering ordinance prohibits the littering of plastics, papers or any other refuse in open or public places, waterways and recreational areas, and provides corresponding penalties for violations.Gasataya said he is also meeting with the city’s barangay captains...

The victims who fell into a into a drainage canal*A man died while two others were injured after they were thrown into a drainage canal when their driver lost control of his motorcycle in Purok Tangke, Brgy. Pandanon Silos, Murcia, Negros Occidental, on Sunday afternoon, August 17.Capt. Honey Labaro, Murcia deputy police chief, said the fatality was a male resident from Purok Santan, Brgy. RSB, La Carlota City.The two survivors, a 28-year-old man also from Brgy. RSB, La Carlota, and a 30-year-old laborer from Brgy. Singcang Airport, Bacolod City, were referred to a hospital in Bacolod for further treatment.Labaro said the victims had just come from an outing at a river in Pandanon and were traveling from Don Salvador Benedicto towards Murcia when the driver lost control of...

One from the Bacolod-Silay Airport tested positive, the CAAP said.*The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has dismissed six airport workers after testing positive for drugs, it announced on Monday, August 18.A total of 1,703 underwent random drug testing in at least 14 of the 44 CAAP-operated airports from February to August.Three of those who tested positive were from Butuan Airport.General Santos International Airport, Ozamiz Airport, and Bacolod-Silay Airport each had at least one personnel who tested positive.The drug testing, CAAP said, aligns with the Philippine Civil Aviation Regulation on Psychoactive Testing and Reporting, and the Civil Service Commission which requires mandatory drug testing for new government employees and for employees who re...

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will conduct a survey of public utility vehicles (PUVs) in Bacolod City to determine passenger demand, Mayor Greg Gasataya said on Monday, August 18.The survey will be from September 8 to 20.The survey and validation will assess the number of PUVs needed per route and the possibility of opening new routes, Gasataya said.It will also determine if some vehicles in overcrowded routes can be transferred to other areas, he added.The mayor hopes the LTFRB can provide its recommendations within a month.Gasataya is also seeking clarification from the LTFRB on whether the Sangguniang Panlungsod has the authority to implement the Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP).He wants to know if a city ordinance or r...

The house where the stabbing took place.*A drinking session turned deadly after a 40-year-old man was stabbed to death while his 12-year-old niece was injured in Purok Maabi-abihon, Brgy. Sag-ang, La Castellana, Negros Occidental, early Monday morning, August 18.Killed was Junery Lachica, 40, a laborer from Brgy. Sag-ang.He sustained stab wounds on his chest and was declared dead at a hospital.The suspect, Lemuel Aguillon, 40, a relative of the victim, was arrested by responding police officers.Initial investigation revealed that Lachica and Aguillon were among five relatives who joined a drinking session at the house of a family member on Sunday evening, Aug. 17.A heated argument broke out, during which Aguillon allegedly grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed Lachica...