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Liquor ban violators being arrested in Bacolod City on Sunday.* Revo Sorbito Facebook page photoLiquor ban arrests, and numerous harassment and vote buying complaints were lodged in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental on Sunday ahead of Election Day on Monday, May 12.Bacolod Election Officer Revo Sorbito said the Comelec along with the police and the 79th IB Masaligan Batallion soldiers arrested 32 liquor ban violators in barangays Mandalagan and Alijis in Bacolod City on Sunday.The liquor ban prohibits the sale, purchase, and consumption of alcoholic beverages in public places until Monday to help ensure a peaceful and orderly election.Sorbito said his office also received numerous complaints of vote buying on Sunday but every time they went to the areas where t...

Avoid long lines, vote early, Comelec urges.*Ronnie Baldonado file photoNegros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson is calling on Negrenses to go out and vote on Election Day on Monday, May 12.“I encourage you to go out and vote tomorrow. Your votes matter, and your voices deserve to be heard,” Lacson said in a statement on Sunday.“I pray for peaceful, honest, and orderly elections for us all. God bless us all,” he also said.Negros Occidental, the province with the 6th largest voting population in the country, has 2,001,732 voters.There are 785 aspirants running for 369 posts in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City in Monday’s polls.Early voting exclusively for senior citizens, persons with disability and pregnant voters will be from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., but they can stil...

The seized items at the Bacong checkpoint.*The complaint filed against a Bacong, Negros Oriental, resident arrested with sample ballots and money has been dismissed by the prosecutor’s office, a Commission on Elections official said on Sunday, May 11.The complaint was dismissed because the evidence was not recovered in plain view at a checkpoint, but in a U-box of a motorcycle and inside envelops, Assistant Elections Regional Director Jossil Macute of the Negros Island Region said.Comelec checkpoint inspections manned by police and military personnel are limited by the plain view doctrine.Romnick Viola Adalim, 36, a resident of Brgy. Combado in Bacong was arrested by Regional Mobile Force Battalion – Negros Island Region (RMFB-NIR) operatives at a checkpoint at Burgos Stre...

The seized items in Sitio Pasil, Brgy. Taba-ao Baybay, San Enrique.*PRO-NIR photoFour Negrenses, including a father and his son, were arrested in two separate operations for violation of the Commission in Elections (COMELEC) Gun Ban in San Enrique and Victorias City, Negros Occidental, on Saturday and Sunday, May 10 and 11.The police said that Ronie Gonzales, 32, and Aljun Gonzales, 33, of Sitio Pasil, Brgy. Taba-ao Baybay, San Enrique, were arrested early Sunday morning.The operation was launched after the police received a report from a concerned citizen of armed individuals present in the area.The police responded and apprehended the suspects after spotting firearms in plain view constituting to a search incidental to arrest.Recovered from them were a .45 caliber pis...

The cordoned off Education Building at the West Visayas State University – Himamaylan City Campus.*Raymund Tongson Facebook page photoThe Education Building at the West Visayas State University – Himamaylan City Campus has been ordered vacated due to structural issues and serious safety concerns, Mayor Raymund Tongson said on Saturday, May 10.Based on the findings of the Commission on Audit (COA), the building has been deemed “unfit for its intended use and posing a serious impact on the delivery of professional and technical instruction”, Tongson said in a post on his Facebook page.The restriction on using the facility has significantly affected the operations of the campus, as it has resulted in a shortage of space for academic and administrative functions, he said.“We fu...

A farmer was shot dead by an unidentified suspect in Sitio Tinugpahan, Brgy. Minapasok, Calatrava, Negros Occidental, on Friday, May 9.The victim identified by the police only as a 29-year-old farmer of Sitio Harvey, Brgy Minapasok, was found dead with his P30,000 reported missing.A witness said he was harvesting marang fruit nearby when he heard gunshots and another resident saw the victim lying on the ground with gunshot wounds.The victim’s bag, which contained about P30,000 was reported missing, the police said.He was brought to the Calatrava District Hospital but was declared dead on arrival.*

Election Task Force of the Schools Division Office of Negros Occidental.*The Schools Division Office of Negros Occidental has activated its Election Task Force (ETF) for the 2025 National and Local Elections (NLE) starting at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 11, until 5 p.m. Tuesday.The ETF serves as the Department of Education’s official mechanism for monitoring the election situation in schools designated as polling centers, the DepEd said.It is tasked with promptly addressing election-related concerns involving DepEd personnel rendering service during the NLE, it added.Assistant Schools Division Superintendent Enjenette D. Baroa heads the Negros Occidental Division’s ETF as chairperson, with ASDS Julito Felicano as co-chairperson.Members of the task force include lawyers Jasper T...

Fuel prices are expected to drop on Tuesday, May 13.Diesel prices should go down by P0.80 to P1 per liter, Unioil Pertoleum Philippines said Saturday.Gasoline prices should also go down by P0.20 to P0.40 per liter, it added.*

Ana Marie Aguilar will lead the strong Bacolod contingent in the second leg of the ICTSI Junior Philippine Golf Tour Visayas-Mindanao Series at Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club in Bacolod City on May 14 to 16.*Visayan hopefuls, led by Bacolod’s rising stars, are out to defend their home turf in the second leg of the ICTSI Junior PGT Visayas-Mindanao Series on May 14 to 16.Capitalizing on their familiarity with the Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club layout in Bacolod City and home crowd support, local bets Ana Marie Aguilar, Cecilia Jalandoni and Anezka Golez will challenge Mactan leg winner Denise Mendoza in the girls’ 7-10 category.In the girls' 11-14 class, Gabriela Regino and Chelsea Ogborne will try to stop Brittany Tamayo from securing a second straight title. ...

The Regional Election Monitoring Action Center meeting on Friday*Commission on Elections, Philippine National Police and Army officials convened the Regional Election Monitoring Action Center (REMAC) of the Negros Island Region at Camp Alfredo M. Montelibano Sr. in Bacolod City on Friday, May 9, to finalize security arrangements for Election Day on Monday.The meeting's focused on the strategic deployment of security personnel across the NIR to ensure a safe and orderly electoral process, a Police Regional Office–Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR) statement said.The officials also addressed the strict implementation of the liquor ban that takes effect on Sunday and Monday, which is a critical measure aimed at preventing possible disturbances and promoting a peaceful environment for ...