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The crime scene in Silay City. *The camps of Silay Mayor Joedith Gallego and his opponent former mayor Mark Golez condemned the killing of two persons and the wounding of seven others in Barangay Mambulac, Silay City.Assistance to the victims was also promised by both camps.Gallego and Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, an ally of Golez, both promised to assist to the victims.The Silay City government will extend all necessary assistance — medical, legal, and psychological — to aid those affected, Gallego said.Benitez said they condemn the incident and have asked the police to swiftly act on the matter.“We are exerting all efforts to see how we can assist,” Benitez said. "Violence has no place in our community — especially when used to silence those who se...

The area where the shooting occurred.*Barbara Mijares photoTwo supporters of Silay Mayor Joedith Gallego were killed and seven others were injured in a shooting incident in Barangay Mambulac, Silay City, Negros Occidental, 7 a.m. Monday morning.Barangay Captain Arnie Benedicto of Lantad, Silay City, who was on board a van, and two unidentified cohorts opened fire without provocation while passing through the area based on a testimony of a witness, an initial police report said.The incident took place in front of a house allegedly used as a headquarters of Team Asenso Silay of mayoral candidate Mark Golez, the police said.Golez denied that the house was a Team Asenso Silay headquarters.Lawyer Jose Edward Davila, legal counselof Team Asenso Silay, said Benedicto deni...

The Negros Occidental Provincial Board of Canvassers convened at the Social Hall of the Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City Monday with Provincial Election Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria (center) as chairman, Provincial Prosector Hermes Ariño (left) as vice chairperson and Provincial Schools Division Superintendent Anthony Liobet as member-secretary.*The election winners in the towns and cities of Negros Occidental are expected to be proclaimed by midnight Monday to at the latest Tuesday morning, Provincial Elections Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria said.The Negros Occidental Provincial Board of Canvassers chaired by Ananoria convened to consolidate the results of the elections in the province at the Social Hall of the Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City at 1 p.m . Monday.Provincial P...

Kanlaon Volcano as seen from Calaon City on Sunday.*Romeo Subaldo photoThe Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology issued a notice of increased seismic activity at Kanlaon Volcano on Election Day, May 12.Phivolcs said 72 volcanic earthquakes were recorded by the Kanlaon Volcano Network between 12 a.m. and 12 p.m. Monday.These events ranged in strength between ML0.3 and ML3.1 and were generated at 0 to 8 kilometers depths beneath the northern and northwestern flanks of the volcanic edifice, Phivolcs said.A total of 135 volcanic earthquakes had been recorded since 12 a.m. on Sunday, May 11, it added,These included relatively strong volcano-tectonic or VT earthquakes.VTs are generated by rock fracturing processes and the increase in VT activity strongly ind...

A bee sting victim given first aid.* Philippine Red Cross photoAbout 50 persons were stung by bees at the Rodolfo Medel Elementary School in Brgy. Tangub, Bacolod City, 9:58 a.m. on Election Day, May 12, Dr. Anna Maria Laarni M. Pornan, Bacolod Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office head, said.The injured individuals who were in the area to vote were given first aid and monitored for allergic reactions, Pornan said.No injured person was transported to the hospital, the DRRMO report said.“The bees appeared suddenly and aggressively pursued the victims, causing numerous stings. Some of the individuals who were in the area sustained bee stings and required medical attention,” the DRRMO reported.“The attack may have been provoked by disturbance to a nearby hive, thou...

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...