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A farmer who was a member of the New People’s Army surrendered to the police in Purok Langka, Brgy. Bunga, Don Salvador Benedicto, Negros Occidental, on Friday, May 2. Alias “Alex”, 42, a farmer and resident of Sitio Macap-ot, Brgy. Nataban, San Carlos City, surrendered to the 1st Negros Occidental Provincial Mobile Force Company Patrol Base, the police reported. Alex was a fulltime member of the Northern Negros Front- Komiteng Rehiyon- Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor in 2014 and was allegedly involved in some harassment and extortion activities in San Carlos City and Don Salvador Benedicto, the report added. He also surrendered a 357 homemade revolver without ammunition. He received P2,000, groceries, and a sack of rice from the End Local Communist Armed Confl...

Commission on Elections chairman George Erwin Garcia said steps have been taken to prevent vote buying through electronic payment services during the May 12 polls.Garcia, who was in Bacolod City on Thursday, May 1, said the Comelec has agreements with GCash, PayMaya, and others electronic platforms who have committed to police money transactions to prevent vote buying at the polls nearIf one person sends money to more than 20 people in a day amounting to more than P5,000 it will be presumed that it is vote buying, Garcia said.But they have not received complaints of electronic vote buying yet, he said.Garcia also said if a person is caught with sample ballots with indelible ink, or carrying cash amounting to P500,000 it will also be presumed to be intended for vote buying...

City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office personnel transport the body of Tony Pahayay, a suspected New People's Army member, who was killed in an encounter in Barangay Humay-humay, Guihulngan City on Thursday .*62IB photoA suspected member of the New People’s Army (NPA) was killed in an armed clash with government troops in Barangay Humay-humay, Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental on Thursday, May 1, prompting dozens of families to flee their homes.Lt. Col. Evelio Ilanga, Army’s 62nd Infantry Battalion commander, said the encounter occurred around 12:10 p.m. in Sitio Tubigan and resulted in the death of Tony Pahayay, also known by the aliases "Aldren" and "Redol."A resident of Barangay Bulado, Pahayay was believed to be part of Squad 2, Sentro de Gravidad, under the dis...

Rowena Guanzon, P3PWD Party-List first nominee.* Negrense Rowena Guanzon, P3PWD Party-List first nominee, said she wants rights of persons with disabilities (PWD) embodied in the country’s laws and policies.If her party-list group gains a seat in Congress in the May 12 polls she will push for the passage of a law allocating a 5 percent PWD and senior citizens development fund from the total budget of local governments and national agencies, Guanzon said at a press conference in Bacolod City on Friday, May 2.This would be similar to the Gender and Development Fund, which they in the women’s rights movement were able to obtain after so many years of struggle, said Guanzon, a former Commission on Elections commissioner and mayor of Cadiz City.Right now the PWDs and senior...

The Negros Occidental provincial government will comply with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) 10-day ban on local governments’ selling of rice at P20 a kilo, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said on Friday, May 2.If they don’t comply they will be committing an election offense, he said.Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said the 10-day Comelec ban on the distribution of all forms of “ayuda (assistance)” includes local government’s sale of rice at P20 kilo.The ban started Friday and will run until May 12, Garcia said.Diaz said the provincial government has been selling cheap rice to indigents, persons with disabilities, senior citizens, single parents and other sectors for two years now through the Bigasan ng Bayan, together with the federation of irrigators as...

The Commission on Elections in Negros Oriental received the official ballots Thursday night.*PNA/ Mary Judaline F. Partlow photoThe Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Negros Oriental will be deploying early to remote areas the official ballots to be used in the May 12 elections to ensure no voter is disenfranchised.Lawyer Eddie Aba, Comelec-Negros Oriental election supervisor, said Friday, May 2, that the official ballots are normally brought to the polling precincts on the day of the elections.“However, we will have the official ballots transported to remote areas at least one day before the polls so voting can start on time and will not be disrupted,” Aba said.The ballots will be under tight security, escorted by police and military personnel during transport.Most ...

Victorias City has made history as the first local government unit (LGU) in the country and in the newly created Negros Island Region to fully subsidize the Social Security System (SSS) contributions of its Barangay Health Workers (BHW) and Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS).Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the SSS through its Contribution Subsidy Provider Program (CSPP) at the Victorias City Command and Evacuation Center on Friday, May 2.SSS Acting Head of the Visayas Operations Group Alberto Montalbo signed the agreement on behalf of SSS President and CEO Robert Joseph Montes De Claro.Under the agreement, the city government will shoulder the monthly SSS contributions of 495 BHWs and 26 BNSs with a minimum salary bracket of P 5,000, ensuring th...

A farmer died after he was shot by his uncle during a drinking spree in Sitio Bulwang, Brgy. Biao, Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, on Thursday, May 1.Jonas Escañan, 53, was shot by his uncle Henny Ganzon, 61, the police said.The victim and his uncle had a heated argument. This resulted in the suspect drawing his .45 caliber pistol and shooting the victim several times, the police said.The suspect tried to escape but was arrested after a hot pursuit operation conducted by the police and the 62nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army.The police recovered a .45 caliber pistol, a magazine, and nine rounds of ammunition from the suspect.The suspect is now detained at Binalbagan Police Station.*

Jhon Isidor “Dee” Supelanas (center), a former student leader, was among the seven New People’s Army remnants who died in a clash with Philippine Army troops in Kabankalan City on April 27.* 302IB imageThe top official of the Philippine Army’s 302nd Infantry Brigade (IB) in Negros Island enjoined parents and those engaging the youth to support the campaign against the recruitment of students to join the armed struggle.Brig. Gen. Joey Escanillas, 302IB commander, issued the call on Friday, May 2, in the wake of the April 27 encounter between government troops and remnants of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, which claimed the lives of seven rebels, among them Jhon Isidor “Dee” Supelanas, 26, a former student leader at the University of the Philippin...