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A 12-year-old Sagaynon athlete delivered the first gold medal for the Negros Island Region in its Palarong Pambansa comeback after topping the Elementary Girls Javelin Throw in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur on Monday, May 25.Marjen Iwayan of Brgy. Vito, Sagay City ruled the event at the D.O. Plaza Government Center Sports Complex on the first competitive day of the national games.Iwayan, a graduating elementary student of Vito Elementary School, is the daughter of Jennylyn, a child caretaker, and Mario, a construction worker.She recorded a 47.20-meter throw, coming close to the 49.77-meter Palarong Pambansa record set last year.Iwayan said this was her second Palarong Pambansa appearance and her second gold medal, after also winning gold in the Elementary Girls High Jump repr...

Mayor Greg Gasataya has issued special permits to 42 ambulant vendors operating along North Capitol Road (Lagoon) in Bacolod City, recognizing their livelihood while the city intensifies road-clearing measures on major streets.For vendors like 37-year-old Ronela Lagahit, the permit marks the end of decades of uncertainty while selling fresh fruit juice coolers along Aguinaldo Street near North Capitol Road.“In my more than 20 years as an ambulant vendor in that area with my mother, this is the first time we were given a special permit to officially sell. We finally have the assurance that our livelihood is legal,” Lagahit said.The permits, processed through the Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO) with assistance from the City Administrator’s Office, were personally d...

Four members of a family escaped unharmed after their vehicle caught fire while they were on their way to Mt. Hermit in Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, on Saturday, May 23.The family, who came from Himamaylan City, were on their wat to visit the tourist destination when the incident happened along an uphill road.The vehicle was a second-hand 2020 Suzuki Ertiga that the owner bought in January this year.Initial investigation showed the family stopped to take photos and had already stepped out of the vehicle when they noticed that it had caught fire.Fire Officer 1 Exxon Ylosorio, fire investigator of the Binalbagan Bureau of Fire Protection, said the vehicle’s engine may have overheated.Ylosorio said the fire could have been immediately contained if the vehicle had a fire...

Two persons died in  road accidents in Valladolid and Murcia, Negros Occidental, on Sunday night, May 24.In Valladolid, a 44-year-old pedestrian died after he was hit by a van while crossing the national highway in Brgy. Palaka at around 6:40 p.m.Police identified the victim as alias “Makmak,” a resident of Bais City, Negros Oriental.Initial investigation showed the victim was crossing the road to buy water from a store on the opposite side when he was hit by a white Toyota Hi-Ace commuter van traveling from Bago City toward Valladolid proper.Police said the van fled the scene after the incident but was later spotted near a church in Brgy. Poblacion and positively identified by a witness.The pedestrian sustained serious injuries and was rushed by Valladolid MDRRMO ...

A 19-year-old laborer drowned after he jumped into an irrigation canal in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, early Sunday morning, May 24.Police said the incident happened at around 1 a.m. in Lower Balicaocao, Brgy. Orong.Initial investigation by the Kabankalan City Police Station showed the victim and his friends had been drinking at his residence since around 3 p.m. on May 23.At around 1 a.m. the following day, the group reportedly decided to bathe in a nearby irrigation canal.Police said the victim, who was allegedly intoxicated, jumped into the canal and was no longer seen by his companions.At around 7 a.m., a resident found the victim’s body at the end section  of the irrigation canal.*

The Social Security System (SSS) has deployed its mobile e-Wheels to public markets and barangays across selected towns and cities nationwide as part of weeklong Palengke Caravan, aimed at reducing travel time, long queues, and transaction difficulties experienced by workers, pensioners, and beneficiaries.The caravan supports the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to bring public services faster and closer to the people, particularly in underserved and hard-to-reach communities.“For many pensioners, informal workers, and members in underserved communities, even a single branch visit can mean transportation expenses, lost income, and hours spent in line,” SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Joseph M. De Claro said.“Through the SSS e-Wheels / Palengke Car...

The Sangguniang Panlungsod of Bacolod has approved on first reading a proposed ordinance seeking to establish a centralized emergency communication framework that will improve the dissemination of verified public warnings, strengthen disaster coordination, and counter misinformation during emergencies and disasters.The proposed measure, authored by Councilor Caesar Distrito and Councilor Pao Sy, is titled the “Bacolod Emergency Communication System (BECS) Ordinance of 2026”.It aims to institutionalize an official emergency communication system that will serve as the City Government’s primary source of verified announcements, advisories, and public safety information during calamities, disasters, health emergencies, public disturbances, and other situations affecting the welfare o...

Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. meets with the Philippine Army troops in Negros Occidental.*DND photoDefense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. said on Saturday, May 23, that no civilians were killed in the encounter with the New People's Army (NPA) in Toboso, Negros Occidental.Teodoro said he is 100 percent sure of the legitimacy of the Army’s conduct during its encounters with the NPA in Toboso and Cauayan, Negros Occidental, amid deliberate efforts by communist groups to distort the truth.“There is a lot of misinformation coming out and I’m here to correct that,” said Teodoro, who met with Negros Occidental officials led by Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson at the Capitol in Bacolod City, and visited the 79th and 15th Infantry Battalion troops at their headquarters.T...

The Bacolod City police seized about P42.84 million worth of suspected shabu in two major buy-bust operations this week.This came after the police confiscated 2.1 kilos more of suspected shabu worth P14.28 million in a buy-bust operation at Purok Camonsil, Brgy. 3, Bacolod City, at around 2:59 a.m. Saturday, May 23.The suspects were identified as alias “John,” 29, a painter and a resident of Purok Camonsil, and alias “Mark,” 34, a construction worker from Purok GK, Brgy. Cabug, Bacolod City.The operation was conducted by Police Station 2 operatives with support from the City Drug Enforcement Unit of the BCPO.The suspects are currently detained at Police Station 2.The latest seizure followed the recovery of 4.2 kilos of suspected shabu worth P28.56 million from a woman i...

The General Alliance of Workers Associations (GAWA)  on Sunday, May 24, said it was dismayed over the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) -Western Visayas' decision to dismiss a petition for a wage increase for all private-sector workers in  WV and Negros Occidental.Wennie Sancho, secretary general of GAWA, said the dismissal of  the requested ₱250 daily wage hike—originally filed by the United Panay Labor Alliance—on a mere technicality was premature.The WV RTWPB decision also  covers workers of  Negros Occidental since no wage board has been created for the  Negros  Island Region, Sancho said.  The dismissal of the wage petition on a technicality “is like using procedural moves to avoid a decision," Sancho said....