Top Stories

Negros Occidental Language and Information Technology Center vocational school administrator Ma. Cristina Orbecido and Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II*The provincial government will set up an artificial intelligence (AI) education training hub at the soon-to-open new campus of the Negros Occidental Language and Information Technology Center (NOLITC) in Talisay City.Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said on Wednesday, April 9, that the province will pioneer the program at the new campus, and cascade it in every district as part of the innovative and transformative education agenda of Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson.“NOLITC will be the hub for AI training for teachers and students in the province,” he said .Ma. Cristina Orbecido, NOLITC vocational school admi...

About P1.6 million worth of fertilizer was distributed to 531 farmers under the National Rice Program of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in La Libertad, Negros Oriental, on Tuesday, April 8.The DA together with the Municipal Agriculture Office of La Libertad distributed the fertilizer to the farmers at the La Libertad Convention Center.The farmers who registered as members of the Registry System for the Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) benefitted from the program, a press release from the DA said.The DA distributed inorganic and bio-fertilizer to the farmers through the fertilizer discount voucher distribution.The distributed of fertilizer is expected to cover about 563 hectares of rice farms in La Libertad, the press release also said.It added that the program w...

Kanlaon Volcano erupting at 5:51 a.m. Tuesday, April 8.*Phivolcs photoThe ground rumbled and Kanlaon Volcano suddenly spewed a gray voluminous plume above its crater causing the sky to turn dark at 5:51 a.m. Tuesday, April 8.Pockets of what looked like small fires were also seen on the side of the volcano, La Castellana Mayor Rhummyla Nicor Mangilimutan said.Mangilimutan witnessed the eruption Tuesday morning from the second floor of a building in Barangay Cabacungan, La Castellana.The mayor said it was a scary site as the wind blew the ash mostly in the direction of La Carlota City, which was the worst hit.La Castellana residents within the 6 kilometer danger zone luckily remain in evacuation  centers away from harm, she said.What appeared to be small fires on...

The ongoing grassfire at Kanlaon Volcano.*Phivolcs photoA grassfire has hit the eastern upper slopes of Kanlaon Volcano, Negros Occidental Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Joan Nathaniel Gerangaya said Tuesday evening, April 8.The fire was ignited by superheated ballistic fragments that were thrown out of Kanlaon Volcano’s crater during its explosive eruption, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.Gerangaya said they could not put out the fire near the Kanlaon crater because it is located within the danger zone.It is near the boundary of Canlaon City and La Castellana, he said.They thought the fire had ended at about 3 p.m. Tuesday but later discovered that it was just covered by clouds and was still ongoing, he said.They ca...

Vice Governor Jeffery Ferrer and Pulupandan Mayor Miguel Antonio Peña cut the ribbon at the inauguration of the port.*The Pulupandan Port in Negros Occidental has resumed full operations under the management of the Negros Coastal Terminal Inc. (NCTI).Vice Governor Jeffery Ferrer and Pulupandan Mayor Miguel Peña led the cutting of the ribbon at the port inauguration Tuesday, April 8.The NCTI won the concession to operate the port for the next 15 years, Richie Villasana, Philippine Ports Authority Division Manager, said.The PPA will be their partner on the government side, he said.They are expecting local and international cargo vessels to dock at the port, Villasana said.The new management will be bringing in bigger equipment for loading operations and cargo handling...

The seized drugs in Calatrava.*PDEA photoPhilippine Drug Enforcement Agency agents arrested a 23-year-old man and seized suspected shabu worth P13.6 million in a buy-bust operation in Brgy. Bantayanon, Calatrava, Negros Occidental, Monday night, April 7.Arrested was alias “Kent”, 23, of Brgy. Suba, Calatrava.Recovered from him were two kilos of suspected shabu with an estimated street drug price of P13.6M, and boodle money worth P2.1M, the PDEA said.The suspect is now under the custody of the PDEA-Western Visayas and the seized drugs were brought to the PDEA-VI forensics laboratory for examination, it added.*

Vehicles were covered in ash from Kanlaon Volcano’s eruption in La Carlota City on Tuesday.* Romeo Subaldo photoMore than P157-million in assistance and funds from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is ready for the needs of local government units (LGUs) for families affected by Kanlaon Volcano’ s eruption on Tuesday, April 8.This includes 147,701 prepositioned family food packs and 27,864 non-food items and the agency's P3-million standby fund, the DSWD assured.There have been 7,900 families or 24,891 individuals in Negros Occidental affected by Kanlaon’s eruption since December 9, the DSWD said.More than 1,766 families or 5,657 individuals are temporarily staying in 14 evacuation centers in the province, and 2,553 families or 8,302 individuals are te...

Guards left to secure the ash-hit SRA research facility in La Granja, La Castellana.*The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) closed its research facility in La Granja, La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, and evacuated its employees following the eruption of Kanlaon Volcano on Tuesday morning, April 8.“We activated our SRA Disaster Response Team headed by SRA Board Member David Sanson and we are on alert, particularly in ensuring the safety of our employees,” SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said.He ordered the evacuation of the employees at the La Granja Agricultural Research and Extension Center, with a skeleton crew left behind to secure it, Azcona said.All the SRA vehicles are ready to deploy when requested by the local government units, he added.“We have regr...

A laborer died and his co-worker was injured when they were electrocuted while loading sugarcane on a truck in Hacienda Bayabas 1, Brgy. Daga, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, at about 10 a.m. Monday, April 7.Alias “Mark”, 53, died and his companion, alias “Rick”, was injured, the police reported.The two were on top of the truck when a mechanized cane loader hit a wire connected to a Northern Negros Electric Cooperative post causing the electrocution, the police reported.They were brought to Cadiz City Emergency Clinic and transferred to the St. Ann Medical Hospital for further medical treatment.Mark was declared dead on arrival, while Rick is now in stable condition, the police said.*

Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer*Negros Occidental Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer said permanent relocation sites for families affected by eruptions at Kanlaon Volcano should be established.Ferrer, who was reacting to the volcano’ renewed eruption on Tuesday, April 8, said that what are currently in place are band aid solutions.Disaster funds of the local governments are exhausted, although the national government is helping, he said.Life in evacuation centers is not normal for the displaced residents, he said.That is why it would be better if permanent relocation sites are considered, he said.The provincial government will not abandon the evacuees, its feeding program will continue, he also assured.*