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Insecticide being sprayed versus fall armyworms.*SRA-BISCOM  photoA task force is conducting massive monitoring to prevent the further spread of fall armyworms that have been destroying sugarcane and corn in Negros Occidental, OIC Provincial Agriculturist Dina Genzola said Friday, July 12.The Climate Resiliency Task Force, composed of technical people and agriculturists, is operating in collaboration with local government units and partner agencies, she said.The task force has three clusters conducting the monitoring, she said.They are visiting various areas in the province, even those with no reported cases of fall armyworm attacks, to raise awareness and preparedness, she said.They also conduct orientations on how to eliminate the fall armyworms, she said.The fall...

The land title of the Mambukal Resort and Wildlife Sanctuary in Murcia is finally under the name of the Negros Occidental provincial government, Provincial Legal Officer Alberto Nellas Jr., said on Friday, July 12.After 60 years a special patent from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for the 24-hectare resort will officially be turned over to the provincial government at rites at the Provincial Capitol Social Hall in Bacolod City on Monday morning, he said.Mambukal had been declared a townsite in the 1960s, he said.The provincial government also purchased an additional 11 hectares adjacent to the resort, he said.The additional property, which cost P9 million, will ensure effective administration of the resort and its environment, Nellas said.*

NOCPPO Director Col. Rainerio De Chavez turns over the responsibilities to Maj. Sherwin Fernandez  (right) as the new Murcia Police Chief*Murcia town in Negros Occidental has a new police chief who assumed office on Thursday, July 11.Maj. Sherwin Fernandez is the new acting police chief replacing Maj. Marc Joeil Reclamado, the Negros Occidental Provincial Police Office reported.Reclamado, during the turnover rites, said he was thankful for the opportunity given to him as he highlighted the accomplishments of the police station in its anti-illegal drugs and anti-illegal gambling operations and apprehension of wanted persons.Fernandez pledged to make Murcia a safe place to work and do business.The ceremony was attended by NOCPPO Director Col. Rainerio De Chavez, Murcia Ma...

A seaman died after his motorcycle accidentally hit a bridge gutter at Kalye Onse, Brgy. 1, Hinigaran, Negros Occidental, on Wednesday, July 10.The fatality was identified as Danilo Guevara, 52, a master mariner, and a resident of Pueblo San Roque Subdivision, Brgy. Gargato in Hinigaran.The victim sustained a head injury.Hinigaran Deputy Police Chief, Lt. Voltaire Sy, said that it was a self-inflicted accident as the victim was allegedly drunk when the accident happened.Before the accident the victim joined a drinking session with his friends and drove without a helmet, the police said.The victim was brought to Hinigaran Medical Clinic and transferred to Holy Mother of Mercy Hospital in Kabankalan where he was declared dead.*

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson (right) with Negros Occidental Scholarship Program Division head Karen Dinsay during the scholarship committee meeting held on Wednesday *The Negros Occidental provincial government is funding the education of 1,276 scholars under the 13 scholarship categories for the academic year 2024-2025.Karen Dinsay, head of the Negros Occidental Scholarship Program Division, said on Friday, July 12, that some 445 new grantees have been approved by the scholarship committee during the meeting presided by Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson earlier this week.“They will join the 831 continuing scholars. We continue to plant the seeds of hope in the hearts of poor but deserving Negrense students. In Negros Occidental, we do not wait for opportunities to...

Negros sugar farm workers: How will the export and import of sugar affect them?*Nic Ledesma photo  The Sugar Council is questioning why the Philippine government is exporting sugar to the United States and at the same time plans to import sugar.“Why export 24,700 MT raw - which we are short of – and replace it with 61,750 MT refined (at a 1:2.5 ratio) - of which we have too much?“ the Sugar Council asked in press statement issued on Thursday, July 11.The Department of Agriculture and the Sugar Regulatory Administration should explain the situation to the common farmer who is puzzled and understandably worried about mill gate prices when sugarcane harvest begins later this year, the Sugar  Council said. The Sugar Council is a coalition of the Con...

The alleged Land Transportation Office driver’s license issued to Kant Gupta* The police are investigating how a notorious fugitive from India tagged as a leader of an organized crime syndicate was able to obtain a Philippine driver’s license stating that he is a Filipino and a resident of Bacolod City.Joginder Geong, alias Joginder Geyong and Kant Gupta, 40, who was arrested in Barangay Taculing, Bacolod City, on Monday was the holder of driver’s license FO1-22-001866. The alleged Land Transportation Office driver’s license was issued to Kant Gupta of 132 Zicron Street, City Heights Subdivision, Taculing, Bacolod City. Kant Gupta was also the fake name used by Geong on a fraudulent Nepalese passport, the police said.  Cpl. Noel Aliño, Bacolod p...

The groundbreaking of the P1.03 billion Negros Occidental Convention Center.*Kiko Benitez FB page photo   The construction of the P1.03 billion Negros Occidental Convention Center (NOCC) in Barangay Guinhalaran, Silay City, will start in August. “After 6 years of hard work and planning, construction is finally about to start,” Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said during the groundbreaking rites on Thursday morning, July 11. The congressman was joined by Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, and Department of Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo and Regional Director Sonny Oropel during groundbreaking. “This center will not only boost development in Guinhalaran b...

An alleged thief and a construction worker were killed in separate shooting incidents in Bacolod City  on Wednesday and Thursday, July 10 and 11. Joemarie Villapana, 33, was killed in  Purok Lampirong, Brgy. 2,  Thursday morning, the police said. PCapt. Glenn Montaño, Police Station 2 commander, said  Villapana was alleged to be  behind the theft of steel bars  used in the construction of a bodega at the  BREDCO port. The suspect escaped  onboard a scooter. Meanwhile, a construction worker was shot to death by an  unidentified person in Purok Masagana, Brgy Taculing, Bacolod City, on  Wednesday. Killed was  Niño Baldevia, 37, a construction worker and a resident of Purok Masagana. T...

The United Negros Alliance members are meeting next month to finalize their lineup for the 2025 elections, Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer, UNegA president, said on Thursday, July 11. The filing of certificates of candidacy is set in October. The UNegA candidates who will replace incumbents  on their third and last terms are in place, he said. Ferrer will be running for representative of the 4th District in place of his wife, Rep. Juliet Marie Ferrer, who is on her last term. UNegA members also on their last terms are La Castellana Mayor Rhummyla Mangilimutan and Bago City Mayor Nicholas Yulo.Vice Mayor Ramon Torres will run for mayor of Bago, while Mangilimutan’s brother is expected to run in her place, Ferrer said. UNegA has yet to decide wh...