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The Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairperson on Wednesday, May 21, announced that a 10-day nationwide voter registration for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) in December will start in late July.Comelec Chairperson George Garcia urged the public, especially the new voters, to register to be able to participate in the BSKE scheduled on Dec. 1.“Nationwide, we will reopen voter registration for BSKE. Remember, it was suspended on Sept. 30 because there [was a midterm] election,” he said.“Those who want to reactivate, transfer registration, register as new voters, they have only 10 days to register. Last week of July to first week of August", he added.Garcia said he expects some 1 million new voters to register during the 10-day period.“If our curr...

Philippine Army 79th Infantry Battalion commander Lt. Col. Arnel Calaoagan (right) visits troopers in the field*The Philippine Army’s 79th Infantry Battalion (IB) on Wednesday, May 21, assailed the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) for falsely claiming that the individuals they killed recently were military intelligence personnel.Lt. Col. Arnel Calaoagan, 79IB commander, said the victims are not connected with their unit and strongly condemned the senseless acts of violence against innocent civilians.He stressed that the CPP-NPA “clearly meant to justify the brutal killings of innocent civilians” in their allegation that they are associated with the 79IB, which is based in Sagay City in northern Negros Occidental.Last week, the NPA’s Roselyn Jea...

Negros Occidental is joining IFEX Philippines 2025, the country’s biggest international food trade show to be held at the World Trade Center om Pasay City, Thursday to Saturday, May 22 to 24.Negrense products will be showcased by 26 participating MSMEs from the province, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said on Wednesday, May 21.“This event is a great opportunity for our MSMEs to grow and connect with wider market,” he said..Led by Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer, the province’s participation is facilitated by the Provincial Administrator’s Office under Diaz II with the Technology and Livelihood Development Center (TLDC) and DTI Negros Occidental.A key feature of the exhibit is a live food demonstration by Slow Food Negros, promoting sustain...

The house where the two children died.*Chamber Volunteer Fire Brigade photoTwo children died and their grandfather sustained second degree burns when a fire destroyed their home at Purok Lison, Brgy 1, Bacolod City, early Tuesday morning, May 20.The charred bodies of an 8-year-old boy and his 6-year-old sister were found next to each other, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Bacolod reported.Their 63-year-old grandfather who lived nearby tried to find them and sustained burns on his arm and face as he tried to enter the burning house.There was a brownout at Purok Lison and the fire that hit the house started from a lighted candle, Fire Officer 2 Rolin D. Paulan, Bacolod Fire Station chief arson investigator, said.The fire started at about 2 a.m. but the fire department...

Negros Oriental Gov. Manuel Sagarbarria*Gov. Manuel Sagarbarria is asking the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) to act on complaints of "ticket fixers" at the Dumaguete Port that is damaging Negros Oriental’s reputation as a tourist-friendly destination.Sagarbarria issued the call in a letter to Rey Del Moro Jr., acting port manager of the Port Management Office of Negros Oriental and Siquijor, and John Lester Pitogo, chief officer of the MARINA Dumaguete Extension Office, on Friday, May 16.The Negros Oriental governor said he is deeply concerned about recent complaints from the traveling public about the problem of "ticket fixers" at the Dumaguete Port.“This issue has been particularly pronounced for vessels departing from Dumagu...

Jeffrey Ferrer, Alfredo Marañon III and Javier Miguel Benitez (l-r)*The two big political parties in Negros Occidental, Love Negros and the United Negros Alliance, have a previous agreement that the next governor of the province to be fielded by their coalition in 2028 will come from UnegA, Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante said on Tuesday, May 20.There was an agreement that the governor would be from Love Negros until 2028 then UnegA would field its own, Escalante, UnegA secretary general, said.The possible contenders for governor of Negros Occidental in 2028 are Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer – 4th District representative-elect, and Rep. Alfredo Marañon III – 2nd District, he said.Ferrer is president and Marañon is chairman of UnegA.Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson of Lov...

There are 30 barangays in Negros Occidental that have applied to be declared drug cleared areas, a Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) official said on Tuesday, May 20.PDEA provincial director David Mark Maramba, in a report at the second quarter meeting of the Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Council, said that 83.19 percent of the 601 barangays in Negros Occidental are drug cleared.Still to be cleared are 101 barangays or 16.81 percent, the PDEA said.Bacolod City is still ranked the lowest in Western Visayas with only 34.43 percent drug cleared barangays out of its 61 barangays.Aklan, Guimaras, Antique are 100 percent cleared. Iloilo province is 99.59 percent cleared, Capiz - 93.45 percent and Iloilo City - 52.78 percent, the PDEA said.The Negros Occidental PDEA remai...

Bungahin River still has turbid water.* La Castellana MDRRMO photoSome waterways in La Castellana town remain affected by the muddy streamflow caused by ash spewed by Kanlaon Volcano during its May 13 eruption.But the waterways are less turbid compared to last week, John de Asis, Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Officer of La Castellana, said on Tuesday, May 20.He said the ash spewed by Kanlaon Volcano on May 13 was thicker than during its eruptions on February 6 and April 8 and is being washed down into waterways by the rain.It has been raining in the late afternoons and evenings in La Castellana, de Asis said.Fishing and eating fish from the affected waterways is prohibited as it could endanger the health of residents, he said.Fish kill in the muddy s...

The removed campaign materials of Team Asenso Bacolod are up for recycling, Bacolod Mayor-elect Greg Gasataya said.*Greg Gasataya Facebook page photoThe Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday, May 20, expressed dismay over the failure of candidates to remove their campaign materials past the deadline of five days after the May 12 elections."We said that five days after the election, they (campaign materials) should be removed. Now it's been more than five days," Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said.Campaign materials in numerous public areas, especially on posts, in Bacolod City had not been removed as of Tuesday, despite the Comelec’s Saturday deadline.Garcia warned the candidates that they may be held criminally liable for not complying with the law, noting that t...

A man previously accused of frustrated murder was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds in a river in Purok 5, Brgy. Pinggot, Ilog, Negros Occidental, on Monday, May 19.The victim was identified as Reymundo Agaze Jr., 47.Recovered in the area were two empty shells and one fired bullet of .45 caliber pistol, which was believed to have been used in killing the victim.Maj. Randy Babor, Ilog Police Chief, said based on their investigation, the motive of the incident was due to personal grudge as the victim was imprisoned for frustrated murder charges and released after serving his sentence.The police are looking for persons of interest.*