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An unidentified man was found dead inside a sugarcane field in Victorias City, Negros Occidental, on Friday afternoon, Aug. 21.The Victorias City police said the body was discovered at around 4:30 p.m. in Hacienda Cambao, Brgy. 12.Police said a 63-year-old hacienda overseer was passing by Field No. 4 when he noticed a person lying motionless inside the sugarcane plantation.The witness also reported a strong foul odor coming from the area.Responding police personnel found the body already in an advanced state of decomposition.The victim was wearing a white and red TUPAD sweatshirt and short pants.Police said the circumstances surrounding the man’s death, including whether there were signs of violence, could not yet be conclusively determined because of the condition ...

A 21-year-old man was found dead underwater off the coast of San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, on Sunday morning, Aug. 23, after he failed to return home from spearfishing.Police identified the victim as Angelo Caliguid Santiago, a resident of Sitio Mabuni Proper, Brgy. Guadalupe.San Carlos police said Caliguid left his home at around 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, to go spearfishing.His father became worried when he had not returned by around 6 a.m. Sunday and went out on a fishing boat with a neighbor to search for him.During the search, they spotted a floating container locally known as a “buya,” which Caliguid had been using while spearfishing.The victim’s father swam toward the area and found his son underwater and unresponsive.Caliguid’s body was retrieved and br...

The Federation of Urban Poor at the Ninoy Aquino statue at Araneta Street in Bacolod City.*photo courtesy of Joy JarabeloClose to 100 members of the Federation of Urban Poor (FED-UP) waving Philippine flags and yellow ribbons gathered early Thursday morning, August 21, along Araneta Street to lay flowers at the statue of former Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., marking his 43rd death anniversary.The annual gathering, held on the national non-working holiday commemorating Aquino’s 1983 assassination, served as a platform for the group to reflect on the late leader's legacy and call for principled leadership in present-day public governance.During the event, FED-UP President Emeritus Noel Quillain delivered a speech emphasizing the late senator's "indomitable spirit" and compar...

About P594,000 worth of alleged illicit cigarettes were recovered from an abandoned panel truck in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, on Thursday afternoon, Aug. 20.The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office said its Provincial Intelligence Unit discovered the Mitsubishi panel truck at around 3:45 p.m. in Sitio Tapol, Brgy. Salong.Police said an informant earlier reported that a suspicious vehicle had been parked inside a private lot for about five days.Operatives who checked the area found the truck unattended and discovered boxes of cigarettes inside.Authorities recovered 22 master cases of Concept cigarettes, with each case containing 50 reams.Police said the shipment totaled about 1,100 reams with an estimated market value of P594,000.The panel truck was al...

The Negros Occidental provincial government has purchased PHP170.999 million worth of rice supply for distribution to poor and near-poor households using the Local Government Support Fund-Financial Assistance (LGSF-FA) granted by the national government.Data on Friday showed the procurement covers 251,470 sacks of 10-kilogram rice for the target 125,735 beneficiary households in all 19 municipalities and 12 cities, to be implemented under the Assistance to Indigent Individuals or Families-Food Assistance Rice Distribution Project."We have already finished the bidding process for the rice assistance from the Office of the President," Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said in a Facebook post.Each beneficiary household will receive a 10-kilogram rice allocation for each q...

Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez*Rep. Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said Friday, August 21, that he is working  for the immediate passage of two measures pending before the House of Representatives to address the needs of the sugarcane industry.Benitez chairs the House technical working groups (TWGs) on proposed amendments to Executive Order No. 18, which created the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), and Republic Act No. 10659, or the Sugarcane Industry Development Act of 2015.He said consultations with industry stakeholders are being conducted to guide the TWGs.Among the proposals are expanding the SRA’s regulatory authority to cover sugar substitutes; broadening the composition of its governing board to include small-scale farmers, agrarian re...

A 39-year-old driver was wounded after he was allegedly stabbed during a drinking session at an auto repair shop in Bacolod City early Thursday, Aug. 20.The Bacolod police said the incident happened at around 12:50 a.m. in Woodstock, Purok Matahum, Brgy. Tangub.Investigation showed that the victim and the suspect were drinking together when an altercation broke out for reasons still being investigated.Police said the suspect allegedly attacked the victim with a bladed weapon, causing multiple injuries to different parts of his body.The victim, a resident of Brgy. Tangub, was rushed to the South Bacolod General Hospital and was reported to be in stable condition.Police Station 8 cops  responded to the incident and arrested the suspect shortly afterward.Police al...