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The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial at CLMMRH on Thursday*“This fight against HIV/AIDS is not just the fight of the Department of Health, it is a fight where everybody's participation is an advantage”, Dr. Joan Cerrada, Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) chief, said.Cerrada, who delivered the opening message at the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial at the CLMMRH in Bacolod City on Thursday, June 5, said the ceremony was a reminder of the unfinished tasks in the fight against HIV-AIDS.“We once again revisit the memory of family, friends or patients who have gone too soon because of HIV/AIDS. This candle lighting ceremony reminds us of the unfinished tasks in the fight against this disease that we need to continue. Hopefully with renewed...

Department of Trade and Industry - Negros Occidental Provincial Director Lynna Joy Cardinal (right) leads the price and supply monitoring in one of the retail stores in Bacolod City on Thursday.*DTI photoThe Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) - Negros Occidental is ensuring fair and affordable options in buying basic school supplies for Negrense learners ahead of the school opening on June 16.As of Friday, personnel of the Consumer Protection Unit, together with Provincial Director Lynna Joy Cardinal, already covered six major mall-based retail stores in Bacolod City city in monitoring school supplies and their prices.“All school supplies checked were within the prices indicated in the price guide,” Cardinal said in a statement.The DTI personnel checked the prices of su...

Clarissa Ramos (center) talks about her fight against oppression and accountability during the press conference in The Hague on the results of the Caravana Filipina fact finding mission which investigated the murders of 59 lawyers, including her husband’s Benjamin Ramos*LOS ANGELES, USA - The widow of slain Negrense human rights lawyer Benjamin Ramos said she has continued to receive threats from the Philippine government even while she has lived in exile in Europe for the past five years.Clarissa Ramos was one of the panelists of the hybrid press conference on June 4 at The Hague of Caravana Filipina, a 12-member independent international delegation which investigated attacks against lawyers, prosecutors and judges in the Philippines from 2016 to 2022.Even while in exile, she ...

The scene of the accident* Rommel Exanes photoA 27-year-old man died when his motorcycle collided with a pick-up truck in Brgy. Alijis, Bacolod City, early Friday morning, June 6.Von Dionam, 27, of Brgy. Handumanan, died when his motorcycle collided with the pick-up truck driven by Mark Era, 23, of Brgy. Villamonte, Bacolod City, the police said.The two vehicles were travelling in opposite directions when they collided.When the ambulance and rescuers arrived the victim no longer had a pulse.Era and the victim’s family have agreed on a settlement, the police said.*

The incoming mayor of Toboso, Negros Occidental, is offering a P10,000 reward to those who report persons engaged in alarm and scandal during their town fiesta.Mayor-elect Richard Jaojoco said it is their way of preventing unruly behavior during the fiesta.“Especially at about midnight or 1 a.m., some individuals engage in rumbles that disrupt the festivities,” Jaojoco said,“If someone can catch those ‘basaguleros’ they will be rewarded P10,000”, he said.On June 5 one person was already rewarded the cash incentive for successfully reporting an individual who was engaged in alarm and scandal, he added.The suspect was arrested and will be charged for violation of Article 155 of the Revised Penal Code or alarm and scandalJaojoco said that they will continue to implemen...

Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson turned over the newly established Provincial Senior Citizens Center to the management of the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) at the Negros Occidental Cyber Center in Bacolod City on Thursday, June 5.The provincial government will continue to collaborate with the NCSC through the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office and the Provincial General Services Office for the center’s operations and building maintenance, a press release from the Capitol said.Lacson said that the establishment of the center affirms the provincial government’s commitment to making Negros Occidental not only a promising place for the youth but also a nurturing and empowering home for the elderly.The center will serve as a venue for activities, special pr...

The Resorts Negrense’s newly-constructed huge swimming pool that offers a refreshing, scenic respite from the scorching heat.*Resorts Negrense at Brgy. Punta Taytay, Bacolod City, has a newly-constructed huge swimming pool that offers a refreshing, scenic respite from the scorching heat.The pool has a three-storey spiraling waterslide, with a fourth floor viewing deck where one can see the entire resort and is perfect for sunset viewing of the Guimaras Strait and parts of Bago City and Bacolod City.Kiddie slides, sea animals-inspired statues, an arched bridge, a center island and a water-immersed sunbathing lounge adorn various parts of the long, wide swimming pool, providing guests with multiple ways to enjoy their swim.Entertaining areas, function rooms, cottages, cabanas...

The Bacolod City police arrested 13 suspects and seized illegal drugs worth P2 million in their week-long anti-illegal drugs operations from May 26 to June 1.They conducted 10 buy-bust operations which resulted to the seizure of 137 grams of suspected shabu worth P931,200 and 9,800 grams of suspected marijuana worth P1,297,500, the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) reported.They also arrested seven wanted persons and seized three homemade firearms.Seven persons were also arrested for illegal gambling, the BCPO added.*

The Energy Development Corporation (EDC), in cooperation with the local government units of Bago City and Murcia, held a two-day disaster preparedness workshop amid the current unrest at Mt. Kanlaon, on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 3 and 4.The Department of Science and Technology–Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology (DOST-PHIVOLCS) was invited to provide context on volcanisms, a press release from EDC said Friday.The workshop was organized to equip the barangays within Bago City and Murcia with necessary knowledge to better respond to the impacts of Mt. Kanlaon’s continued unrest.Representatives from the Department of Education in Bago and Murcia were also present.“This is a great opportunity for us to come together with a shared purpose: to enhance our unders...

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. and Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez (1st and 2nd from left) at the launching of the P20 a kilo rice program in Bacolod City.*CPG photoAgriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. assured Negrenses on Thursday, June 5, that government will be selling good quality rice at P20 per kilo until 2028, and that farmers' palay will be purchased at fair market prices.“We have to serve the consumers and we have to protect the farmers,” Laurel said at the launch of the P20 per kilo rice program at the Burgos Public Market in Bacolod City.Bacolod City is the first area in the Negros Island Region where the P20 per kilo rice program has been launched, DA-NIR Director Jose Albert Barrogo  said.Laurel and Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abela...