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Provincial Elections Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria*The Commission on Elections has identified the polling areas for residents displaced by Kanlaon Volcano in two cities and one town in Negros Occidental, Provincial Elections Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria said on Monday.The polling centers for May 12 will be at the evacuation centers or at makeshift sites in La Carlota and Bago cities and La Castellana town, he said.They identified the alternative polling areas since there is no chance that the evacuees can go home by May 12, he said.Meanwhile, he said the Comelec and other agencies in the Negros Island Region are set for the deployment and security of the automated counting machines (ACMs) and ballots for the polls.He said 2,016 ACMs have arrived in Negros Occidental and th...

The Love Negros members led by Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez endorsing the Abang Lingkod Partylist group during their April 2 gathering.*Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said Love Negros will back Governor Eugenio Lacson's decision to support the candidacy of Board Member Anton Occeño for representative of the 5th District of Negros Occidental.“I guess we will all follow his endorsement”, Benitez said, since Lacson is the head of Love Negros as its highest-ranking member,.Lacson earlier explained that as an ally of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, he is endorsing the candidacy of Occeño.Occeño is challenging incumbent Rep. Emilio “Dino” Yulo (Lakas-CMD).Meanwhile, Lacson said the Love Negros members’ meeting at the hous...

A 76-year-old man who was trapped in his burning house died in Sitio Medina, Brgy. Rizal, San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, Sunday night, April 20.The victim was Antonio Obinque, 76, the police said.Maj. Ronald Santillan, San Carlos deputy police chief, said the victim lit a kerosene lamp but it fell and the fire spread inside the house.The victim, who lived alone, had difficulty moving that is why he did not manage to get out of his house, the police said.The police said there was no foul play in the incident and they are now coordinating with the family of the victim.*

A 13-year-old boy drowned in a river in Purok Santan, Brgy. Camugao, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, on Monday, April 21.The police identified the victim as alias “Justin”, 13, of Brgy. 8, Kabankalan City.The victim with his sibling and four friends went swimming in the river, Capt. Sammy Gasataya, Kabankalan Deputy Police Chief, said.However, the victim reached a deep section of the river and drowned, Gasataya said.A search and rescue operation was conducted by residents of Brgy. Camugao for the victim, who was brought to a hospital but was declared dead on arrival.The victim did not know how to swim, the police said.*

The scene of the deadly Good Friday procession.*Romeo Subaldo photoMultiple cases will be filed on Monday, April 21, against an Indian national whose vehicle slammed into a tricycle in Barangay Alangilan, Bacolod City, during a Good Friday procession leaving three dead, and 16 injured.They are filing the multiple cases against Jagpreet Singh, 37, Lt. Col. Ramel Sarona, Traffic Management Unit (TMU) head, said on Sunday, April 20.Singh, who remains in police custody, will be charged for reckless imprudence resulting to multiple homicide, multiple physical injuries, and damage to property, Sarona said.The Toyota Innova driven by Singh, who tested positive for the use of alcohol, hit a tricycle at the Good Friday procession causing it to split in half. One half of the tricycle...

A drone thermal photo of the Cadiz fire.*Cadiz CDRRMO screengrabA fire left 118 Cadiz City residents homeless on Black Saturday, April 19.The fire hit 19 houses in Talaba-an, Brgy Zone 1, at 8:08 p.m., Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante said on Sunday.He said 16 houses were destroyed and three were damaged.There were 30 families affected with 118 members, Escalante said.*

The Negros Electric and Power Corp. rates are up by P0.8794 per kilowatt hour this April.The power rates increased from P11.4766/kWh in March to P12.3563/kWh in April, a press release from Negros Power said.It attributed the increase to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) prices that doubled from P3.5383/kWh to P6.6865/kWh in April.The increase in WESM prices, driven by a combination of lower supply and higher demand this summer, was attributed to power plants planned and forced outages reducing the electricity available.It also cited increased electricity demand due to extreme heat that started in the first week of March, which led to a 5.9 percent increase in energy demand in Visayas.This mismatch between supply and demand significantly impacted electrici...

Firefighters putting out the blaze at Brgy. Cabug.* Bacolod City Fire Station photoA fire hit 11 buses in a junk yard and one person was injured at One Communities South Hill, Brgy. Cabug, Bacolod City, at about 1:55 p.m. on Easter Sunday, April 20, a Bacolod City Fire Station report said.Destroyed were nine junk buses while two others were damaged, FO2 Anthony Val G. Isansa, fire investigator on case, said.Frederico A. Azuelo 62, sustained burns on the stomach.Initial estimated damage to the property owned by Charles Anthony Dumancas was P20,000, Isansa said. It is up to the owner to present documents on the actual cos of the damage, he said.The Bacolod City Fire Station arrived at the scene of the fire at 1: 55 p.m. and it was extinguished at 2:21 p.m., Isansa said....

Sugar Regulatory Administration chief Pablo Luis Azcona*The United States has reduced its planned 17 percent tariff on sugar to 10 percent, Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) chief Pablo Luis Azcona said on Saturday, April 19.The existing US sugar quota tariff is 1.46 cents per pound, he said.The US announced that the planned 17 percent tariff has been suspended and only a 10 percent tariff will be imposed on top of the existing 1.46 cents per pound, he said.“The suspension of the 17 percent is until July 9 after which we do not know what will happen”, Azcona said.The Philippines that has a 143,000-metric ton share in the US Sugar Quota has allocated 66,235 MT of raw sugar for export to the United States for crop year 2024-2025, Azcona said.The Philippines is shi...

Rep. Emilio “Dino” Yulo and Negros Occidental Board Member Anthony Dennis “Anton” Occeño (l-r)*The United Negros Alliance is leaving it to its mayors to decide whom to support for congressman of the 5th District of Negros Occidental, Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante, UNegA secretary general, said on Sunday, April 20.Incumbent Rep. Emilio “Dino” Yulo (Lakas-CMD) is being challenged by Negros Occidental Board Member Anthony Dennis “Anton” Occeño (Partido Federal ng Pilipinas) for representative of the 5th District.UnegA mayors Ella Garcia Yulo of Moises Padilla and Rhummyla Nicor Mangilimutan of La Castellana are supporting Yulo, Escalante said.Mayors Raymund Tongson of Himamaylan City and Alejando Mirasol of Binalbagan are supporting Occeño, he added.Mayors Jose Nadie Ar...