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NACUSIP President Ronald C. dela Cruz*The country’s labor groups  are united in  calling on President Ferdinand  Marcos Jr. to certify as urgent  the P200  legislative daily wage increase for Filipino workers now, National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (NACUSIP) President Ronald C. dela Cruz said on Wednesday.The nation marks Labor Day on Thursday, May 1. NACUSIP and its allied  organizations - the Philippine Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial Workers Union  and the Congress of Independent Organizations joins the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines  and the National Wage Coalition composed of the Kilusang Mayo Uno, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino and Nagkaisa Labor Coalition in calling for the le...

The remains of Charity Amacan was turned over to her family.*79th IB photoTwo top cadres of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) killed in a recent encounter with Philippine Army troops in Kabankalan City were wanted for several counts of murder, the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) said on Wednesday, April 30.Reniel Locsin Cellon, former commander of Southwest Front, had four outstanding arrest warrants for murder and direct assault while Charity Amacan, former secretary of Southeast Front, faced 11 arrest warrants for murder.Cellon and Amacan died with five of their comrades in a clash with soldiers from the 11th, 15th, and 47th Infantry Battalions in the hinterlands of Barangay Tapi last Sunday.“The cases against them a...

Former senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan (center) being endorsed by Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and former governor Rafael Coscolluela.* Richard Malihan photo“Every vote counts, it’s a very tight race”, former senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said on Wednesday, April 30, as he appealed for vote-rich Negros Occidental’s help.Pangilinan, who is running as an independent senatorial candidate, thanked Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and former governor Rafael Coscolluela for their support during his visit to the provincial Capitol in Bacolod City.Lacson and Coscolluela are endorsing Pangilinan and former senator Bam Aquino for senator.“This will be a big help because Negros is a vote rich province, right now the race is very tight with nine candidat...

Absentee voting in Negros Occidental.*The three-day local absentee voting (LAV) for voters who will be working on Election Day ended on Wednesday, April 30.There were 2,480 registered absentee voters in the Negros Island Region, with 1,880 from Negros Occidental.They were only allowed to vote for candidates for senator and party list groups.Negros Occidental had the largest number of registered local absentee voters in the country, Provincial Elections Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria said.The absentee voters included Comelec, media, government and uniformed personnel.The bulk of the absentee voters in Negros Occidental were from the Philippine National Police, Ananoria said.The ballots will be transmitted to the Comelec Committee on Local Absentee Voting in Manila f...

Thalia Evangelista*A missing woman was found dead behind the motor pool of the Hinoba-an municipal government in Brgy. Poblacion 1, on Wednesday afternoon, April 30.The woman, whose body was in a state of decomposition, was wearing black shorts and a black shirt, the police said.A man who was parking his tricycle noticed the foul smell and saw the body.The victim was identified as Thalia Evangelista, 24, of Brgy. 2 in Hinoba-an.Maj. Jaynick Bermudez, Hinoba-an Police Chief, confirmed that the victim was identified by her family, who reported and posted on Facebook that she has been missing for three days since attending a fiesta.He said that the victim’s family is still coordinating with the police to gather more information.Bermudez said that the police are inv...

The 5-day Bacolod Chicken Inasal Festival will be held from May 21 to 25, Councilor Celia Flor said on Wednesday, April 30.Flor, festival chairperson, said the Sangguniang Panlungsod approved a budget of P1.25 million for the event, however, it cannot be disbursed because of the election ban.Sponsors will cover some of the events and other expenses to mount the festival, she said.On May 21, the ceremonial grilling and media day will be held at the temporary Manokan stalls at SM City Bacolod, while the longest inasal grill will be at the Upper East on May 22, and the arena dance competition on May 25.Ayala Malls Capitol Central and Citadines will also be sponsors of the festival, the councilor said.This year’s theme “Fire and Fusion” also aims to showcase the ways of coo...

A man who drowned was found by the shoreline of Sitio Cavan, Brgy. Tapong, Pulupandan, Negros Occidental, on Tuesday, April 29.The 45-year-old man was a resident of Sitio Tamburong, Purok Humay, Brgy. Napoles, Bago City, the police said.Witnesses said the victim was seen lying beside driftwood without clothes on by a fisherman walking along the shoreline.The incident was reported to the barangay officials and the victim was declared dead by the Municipal Health Officer.The victim was suffering from a mental problem and the cause of death was asphyxia secondary to drowning, the police said.*

Students and friends hold a candle lighting ceremony for Dee Supelanas and the rest of the Kabankalan 7 at the UP Cebu entrance gate Tuesday afternoon.* Tug-ani Facebook page photoThe bodies of six of seven alleged New People Army rebels, including a University of the Philippines Cebu alumna, killed in an encounter with government soldiers in Barangay, Tapi, Kabankalan City in Negros Occidental, have been claimed by their families.Meanwhile, a civilian wounded during Sunday’s armed clash is in stable condition, Col. Erwin Rommel Lamzon, 3rd Infantry Division spokesperson, said.The civilian identified as Marcel Camangyan Anguit was immediately brought to the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City, where he is currently receiving medical care, Lamzo...

EU election observers Robert Lismanis and Luisa Lupascu meet with Negros Occidental Provincial Election Supervisor Ian Lee M. Ananoria on Tuesday.*The Negros Oriental security forces will be augmented by 310 policemen from Bacolod City during the May 12 polls, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Regional Director Lionel Marco Castillano of the Negros Island Region said on Tuesday, April 29.The Bacolod policemen will be deployed in Negros Oriental three days before the elections, he said.Bacolod City residents have nothing to worry about because the pull out of the policemen will be temporary, he said.The 200 policemen deployed in Negros Oriental from the Police Regional Office 7 have been returned to the Central Visayas now that the NIR is in place, Castillano said.The ca...

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and  Evelio Leonardia (l-r)* Mayor Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez will not object to former mayor Evelio Leonardia’s request for manual counting of the May 12 votes in Bacolod City and will leave it to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to decide, his spokesman said on Tuesday.Leonardia and Benitez are both running for representative of the Lone District of Bacolod.Benitez will not file an objection to the former mayor’s request so he can accept the outcome of the elections if he does not win again, his spokesman Caesar Distrito said.Leonardia lost to Benitez in the 2022 mayoral race.“Mayor Albee will not even file his objection before the Comelec, and will leave it to them to decide whether to go for manual or automated elect...