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The Election Registration Board (ERB)  of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) that  ended its hearings  on Friday, July 19,  disapproved 68 voter applicants in Bacolod City, Elections Officer Kathrina Trinio Caña said. The majority were disapproved because they have existing voter registration records in Bacolod City and in other areas, she said. Some are also registered as overseas voters, she added. They should have filed for transfer of voter registration, instead of for new registration, she said. They were sent notices to correct their type of applications but they did not appear so the ERB had no choice but to disapprove them, Caña said. Eight were also disapproved because on ocular inspection it was discovered that t...

Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease.* The Negros Occidental Provincial Health Office on Friday, July 19, warned of an increase in dengue cases especially in the southern end of the province. There were 874 dengue cases, including three deaths, in Negros Occidental from January 1 to July 13, Dr. Girlie Pinongan, Provincial Health Officer, said. It is a 17.79 percent increase compared to the 742 cases in 2023. The age group with the most number of dengue cases were from 1 to 10 years old, she said. The LGUs with the most number  of dengue cases this year are:  Hinoba-an – 102, Sipalay City – 96, Cadiz City – 77, San Carlos City – 61,  Cauayan – 53, Silay City – 52,  Kabankalan City  - 49, Victorias City – 39,  Talisay ...

Edward Du (left), NOCCI president, discusses business opportunities at the opening of the Dumaguete Coffee Festival on Friday.*PNA/Judaline Flores Partlow photo The Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NOCCI) is hopeful that President Ferdinand  Marcos Jr. will include the recently created Negros Island Region (NIR) in his State of the Nation Address on Monday,  July 22. NOCCI president Edward Du said in an interview Friday that the NIR, which the President signed into law last month, is expected to take off in 2025 after budgetary requirements have been met and approved by the national government. “First and foremost, I hope the President will mention the NIR, especially because we are looking forward to having our own separate budget for 2025,...

The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office arrested 138 individuals as part of the   two-week region-wide manhunt operations of the Police Regional Office-6 from July 1 to 15. The police in Western Visayas arrested 322 individuals in 268 operations in the two-week manhunt operations with NOCPPO toping other police units in Western Visayas, the PRO-6 said. Of the 322 arrested, 33 were classified as most wanted persons (MWP) while 289 were tagged as other wanted persons (OWP). NOCPPO arrested seven MWPs, Iloilo PPO - 11, Capiz PPO - 6, Aklan PPO and Bacolod City Police Office - 3 each, and Antique PPO, Guimaras PPO, and the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) - 1 each. The  NOCPPO arrested 131 OWPs followed by the Iloilo PPO with 58, BCPO a...

Personnel of the Department of Agrarian Reform Negros Occidental 2 (South) give an orientation during the distribution of the land titles to 37 farmer-beneficiaries Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, on Thursday  * Ninety-two farmers received land titles and took their oaths as agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) in southern Negros, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Negros Occidental 2 said in a report on Friday, July 19. In Moises Padilla, certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs) were distributed on Thursday to 37 farmer-beneficiaries in Barangay Quintin Remo. They obtained titles to the agricultural properties previously owned by Josefa Villaruel, Basilisa Mudanza, and Rosemarie Isidro-Alvarez, with a...

 Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez (center), chairperson of Regional Development Council -Western Visayas, presides over the joint meeting.* The Regional Development Council-Western Visayas (RDC-6) is seeking to develop a unified approach to regional security aligned with the administration's national security policy. The proposed action was tackled during the joint meeting of the RDC-6, Regional Peace and Order Council-6, and Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council-6 held at the L’ Fisher Hotel in Bacolod City  on Thursday, July 18. Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, chairperson of RDC-6, said the gathering of the three councils aimed for Western Visayas to be prepared and understand the gaps in achieving regional security.&nb...

The inaugural Negros Occidental Coffee Fiesta will be held Aug. 9 to 11 at Ayala Malls Capitol Central in Bacolod City  to celebrate and promote the Negrense coffee culture. The event with the theme “From Bean to Cup: Uniting Communities, Igniting Possibilities" is being organized by the Negros Occidental Coffee Council with support from the provincial government and the Department of Trade and Industry. “Get ready to be part of a celebration that brings together coffee enthusiasts, farmers, and entrepreneurs to promote sustainable practices and economic growth,” the organizers said in a statement on Friday, July 19. The Negros Occidental Coffee Council will also hold coffee seminars and competitions. On Aug. 9, there will be talks and presentations on “Innov...

The Department of Social Welfare and Development-6 distributed financial aid worth P200,000 to 15 former rebels during a ceremony in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, on Wednesday, July 17. Five former rebels received P20,000 each under the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP), and 10 received P10,000 each under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) Program, the  94th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army said. The financial aid is part of the Army’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) of the City Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (CTF-ELCAC). The ceremony was lead by the City Social Welfare Development Office (CSWDO) together with the Army and some officials from the local government unit. Lt...