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A 21-year-old woman with a chain around her ankle was found dead in a river in Brgy. 2, Ilog, Negros Occidental, Tuesday morning, May 6.Lt. Rygie Pigar, Ilog Deputy Police Chief, said that the victim was identified as Jenny Gallego, 21, of Brgy. Bantayan, Kabankalan City, and was reported missing twice before she was found in the river in Sitio Malabong in Brgy. 2.The police said that the victim had a chain on her ankle because she was restrained by her family so she could not get out of their house as she was suffering from a mental illness.However, she was given a hammer by one of her siblings, which she used to break the chain and went missing on May 3.She was found by her other sibling on May 4 and was brought home and she went missing again on Monday, May 5.The vic...

Election supplies arrive at the Comelec provincial office in Bacolod City on Tuesday, May 6.*Ronnie Baldonado photo“Keep your cool and reign in your supporters”, a Commission on Elections (Comelec) official reminded candidates with less than a week left before the May 12 elections.Comelec Negros Island Region Assistant Regional Director Jossil Macute on Tuesday, May 6, said as tension rises as the polls near candidates should keep their cool to be examples to their supporters and to prevent violence.The preparations for the May 12 are set and we are so near the finish line, be a leader for peace and development, Macute said.“Just let the people cast their votes, you’ve done your best…let the people decide,” Macute said.The last day for campaigning is Saturday, and a liq...

The number of fire incidents in Bacolod City dropped by 58 percent in the first four months of this year, the Bacolod City Fire Station reported on Tuesday, May 6.There were 60 fire calls from January to April this year, which are 58 percent lower compared to the 143 fire calls in the same period in 2024.,Of the 60 incidents, 31 involved residential buildings, 11 - non-residential, four - vehicular fires, and three - non-structural fires.Damage also significantly decreased by P21 million from January to April, at P5,228,950 this year compared to P26,496,750 in the same period in 2024.The number of injured persons also decreased by 73 percent, from 11 last year to three this year, the report added.*

Malacañang declared Monday, May 12, as a special non-working holiday throughout the country for the 2025 national and local elections.Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, on the authority of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., signed Proclamation 878 on Tuesday declaring a nationwide holiday to "enable the people to properly exercise their right to vote."The Commission on Elections (Comelec) recently urged Marcos to declare May 12 as a holiday to allow registered voters to cast their ballots.Filipino voters will elect senators, House members, party-list representatives, and local officials such as governors, vice governors, mayors, vice mayors, and members of their local council.*PNA

The police have identified a person of interest behind the killing of a family of three in Brgy. Buenavista, Murcia, Negros Occidental, on May 1.They are already investigating the person, Maj. Sherwin Fernandez, Mucia police chief, said Tuesday, May 6.Nelde Celayes, 59, his wife, Josefine, 60, and their son Juvy were shot dead in their home by unidentified suspects on Friday night.Fernandez said that they are looking at a land conflict as one of the motives of the crime, which is not related to politics.Col. Rainerio De Chavez, Negros Occidental provincial director, in a statement issued earlier condemned the shooting incident and assured of an intensified investigation of the crime.“We are condemning this brutal and senseless act. Let me make it clear—this is an isola...

Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez (center) and City Planning and Development Office head Mary Jean Ramos (left) discuss the conduct of comprehensive database profiling of public utility jeepneys (PUJs) operating within the city on Tuesday*Bacolod PIO photoThe Bacolod City government is conducting a comprehensive database profiling of public utility jeepney (PUJ) operators until Friday, May 9, as part of its collaboration with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to develop a sustainable mass public transportation plan.“The objective is to establish a more efficient, reliable, and environmentally sustainable public transport system,” City Planning and Development Office head Mary Jean Ramos said in a statement on Tuesday.The data-gathering covers operators of regist...

Comelec Chairperson George Garcia in Bacolod City last week.*CPG photoWith less than a week before the May 12 midterm elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday, May 6, urged voters to start listing down the names of the candidates they will be supporting on election day."Let's make our 'kodigo' now. It's difficult to think of the 12 candidates for senator, one party-list group, as well as local candidates while you're already voting," Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said.Aside from making their "kodigo (list)”, Garcia also advised the voters to know their particular voting center and polling precinct ahead of election day.“One must know where is their designated school and polling centers are located,” he said.Garcia also urged voters to behave while...

Fr. Chris Gonzales officiates the prayer and blessing of the 310 personnel of the Bacolod City Police Office during the send-off ceremony Tuesday.* photo courtesy of Gracelyn ParconThe Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) has deployed 310 of its personnel to Negros Oriental to beef up security operations for the May 12 national and local elections on the other side of the island.The send-off ceremony, with the prayer and blessing officiated by Fr. Chris Gonzales, was held at the Bacolod City police headquarters Tuesday morning.“The augmentation force for the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office will come from BCPO to address their needs there this coming election,” Brig. Gen. Arnold Thomas Ibay, officer-in-charge of Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR), said. ...

The inflation rate in Western Visayas has slowed slows down by 1.9 percent in April, about 0.8 percent lower compared to the 2.7 percent in March, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported on Friday, May 6.PSA records showed that the region’s inflation is 0.4 higher compared to the national average, which was at 1.4 percent, and the highest in the Visayas with Central Visayas at 1.7 percent and Eastern Visayas at 0.6 percent.The country’s current inflation rate is the lowest since November 2019 which was at 1.2 percent, the PSA said.The national average inflation rate from January to April 2025 was 2.0 percent.*

Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros*Senate Deputy Minority Leader  Risa Hontiveros called for a Senate investigation into joint venture agreements between water districts and private companies, some of which were found by the Commission on Audit (COA) to be "disadvantageous", on Monday, May 5.Hontiveros said she called for the probe as citizen complaints, including in Bacolod City, continue to pile up against private concessionaire PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp. at the height of the dry season.The Villar-owned PrimeWater has an existing joint venture with the Bacolod City Water District.Hontiveros cited complaints of “poor service quality, inadequate water supply, and significant increases in water tariffs — as reported in areas served by PrimeWater in various p...