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Dengue cases in Bacolod City increased by 29 percent in the first three weeks of January, the City Health Office reported on Wednesday, Jan. 29.There were 40 dengue cases with no fatality from Jan. 1 to 18, compared to 31 cases in the same period last year, it said.The barangays with the highest number of cases are Villamonte - 6, Mandalagan – 5, Tangub – 4, Singcang – 3, and Estefania – 3.Dengue cases in Negros Occidental increased by 296.83 percent in the first 18 days of 2025, with two dengue related deaths recorded, the Provincial Health Office reported earlier.The Department of Health urges the public to follow the 4S campaign to prevent the spread of dengue.The 4S stands for “Search and Destroy” mosquito breeding places, “Secure Self Protection” from mosquito bite...

Immigrant rights groups in Los Angeles led by CHIRLA held a vigil against deportation at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church on Jan.21* Ma. Liezl Japona photoLOS ANGELES, California - Militant Filipino groups launched a nationwide Defend Migrant Campaign network in response to President Donald Trump’s threat of mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, including Filipinos, in the US.More than 300 representatives from various Filipino organizations and allies across the US gathered on Saturday Jan. 25 in an online conference for the launch of Tanggol Migrante or Defend Migrants campaign that would help Filipinos facing immigration and deportation problems.Karen Roxas, vice president of the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns, said that while campaign networks have been estab...

Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran (right)*        Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez denied snubbing Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran during the  turnover of the Pambansang Pabahay Para Sa Pilipino (4PH) housing units in Barangay Vista Alegre, Bacolod City,  his spokesman said on Wednesday, Jan. 29.      Barangay Captain Caesar Distrito, the mayor’s spokesman,  issued the clarification amid allegations that Familiaran was not invited to the event on Saturday.The invitation is usually sent to Famillaran’s technical assistant through her Facebook messenger, he said.“As in the previous occasions, especially those being done with short preparation like this one, a message o...

Rep. Jocelyn Sy Limkaichong (Neg. Or., 1st District)*The immediate convening of the Regional Development Council of the Negros Island Region is being urged to speed up the new region’s operations.“We are asking the NIR technical working group to give the convening of the RDC priority”, Rep. Jocelyn Sy Limkaichong (Neg. Or., 1st District) said on Wednesday, Jan. 29.Limkaichong said the NIR Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and the Regional Peace and Order Council should also be convened.The implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act No. 12000 establishing the NIR will be published on Monday, Feb. 3 and the NIR will be officially operational after Feb 18, Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Tuesday.The NIR is composed of Negros Occ...

The Himamaylan tent city*The Tent City in Himamaylan is steadily progressing with 40 out of the planned 395 family tents already set up, the Office of Civil Defense reported on Wednesday, Jan. 29.These tents provided by the OCD Central Office will serve as temporary shelters for evacuees displaced by the Kanlaon eruption.The site is being developed to ensure it meets the basic needs of the families who will be staying there, the OCD said..Ongoing work includes the installation of plumbing, water, and sanitation facilities to provide safe and hygienic living conditions, it said.“Once completed, the site will be ready to accommodate evacuees, offering them a secure and functional space,” the OCD added.*

Mayor Ella Garcia-Yulo has lifted the suspension of face-to-face classes in Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, and is adopting a new Department of Education learning mode.The lifting of the suspension of face-to-face classes takes effect Monday, Feb. 3, Garcia-Yulo said in Executive Order 203, Series of 2025 dated Wednesday, Jan. 29.Face-to-face classes in Moises Padilla had been suspended following the eruption of Kanlaon Volcano in December.The latest advisories of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology show that Mt. Kanla-on remains at Alert Level 3 due to unstable conditions and indicators of a possible magmatic eruption, the mayor said.She said based on the results of a DepEd consultative meeting on Monday, Jan. 27, with the affirmation of parents thro...

Bacolod City Police Office cops seized shabu worth P2.9 million in their weeklong anti-illegal drug operations from Jan. 20 to 26.They conducted seven anti-illegal drug operations and arrested 13 persons, the BCPO reported on Wednesday, Jan. 29.These operations resulted to confiscation of 443 grams of suspected shabu valued at P2, 978,400.The police also conducted three anti-illegal gambling operations arresting six individuals and confiscating P720 worth of bet money.*

The police arrested three persons and seized suspected shabu worth P115,600 in two buy-bust operations in Silay City, Negros Occidental, on Tuesday, Jan. 28.Alias “Mark”, 36, a pedicab driver, and “Lor”, 49, a fish vendor, were arrested in a buy-bust operation in Sitio Estaca, Brgy. Lantad, the police said.Recovered from them were 14 sachets of suspected shabu worth P61,200, the police added.Alias “Charimel”, 29, a waitress was also arrested in Purok Mangingisda, Brgy. Guinhalaran, with eight grams of suspected shabu worth P54,400, the police said.All suspects are now detained at the Silay City Police Station and will face charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.*