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Campaign posters will not be allowed at the 29th Panaad sa Negros Festival at the Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod City, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Tuesday, Marh 11.They decided to keep the festival, set from March 24 to 30, apolitical, he said.Campaign posters will not be allowed to be plastered in the stadium and on trees in the park, he said.If the festival site is filled with campaign materials it will not look nice, he said.But candidates can come to the festival to shake hands and even give T-shirts if they want, Lacson added.*

A barangay tanod died after he was shot by three unidentified persons at a sugarcane field in Hacienda Launcia, Brgy. Consing, E.B. Magalona, Negros Occidental, Tuesday, March 11.The police identified the victim only as alias “Dakol”, 60, a tanod and former watchman of a quarry project.Investigation revealed that while the victim was cutting grass at the sugarcane field, three suspects approached and shot him.*

The Negros Occidental athletes at the WVRAA meet in Antique*Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said he will urge Negros Oriental or Siquijor to host the first Negros Island Region athletic meet next year.Lacson said he is willing to give the hosting to either of the two provinces so the Negros Occidental athletes can travel.He expects the Negros Occidental athletes to dominate the NIR regional athletic meet, Lacson said.Negros Occidental came in second in the recent Western Visayas Regional Athletic Association Meet in Antique.The province was champion only in the elementary level, while Iloilo won the most golds in the secondary and para games to bag the championship.Lacson said he was satisfied with the performance of the Negros Occidental athletes who did...

A driver died and his passenger was injured after their motorcycle hit a steel post in Brgy. Binicuil, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, on Monday, March 10.Jerald Salibio of Sitio Utod, Brgy. Poblacion, San Enrique, died, while his backrider, Jomar Zara, 28, was injured.They were on their way to the Mag-aso Falls in Kabankalan, however, the motorcycle went off the road causing them to hit a steel post, the police said.The victims were not wearing helmets and the incident was self-inflicted, the police added.*

The police arrested five persons and seized suspected shabu worth P1.2 million in buy-bust operations in two cities and a town in Negros Occidental on Monday, March 10.The five drug suspects were arrested in the cities of Sagay and Kabankalan, and E.B. Magalona town.Alias “Ed”, 47, was arrested at the GK Village in Brgy. Gahit, EB Magalona, with 100 grams of suspected shabu worth P680,000, the police said.Also recovered from him was a .38 caliber revolver with three rounds of ammunition, the police added.Two women identified as alias “Amanda”, 20, and alias “Liza”, 46, were also arrested in Purok 9, Brgy. Poblacion I, Sagay City, the police reported.Recovered from them were 21 sachets of suspected shabu weighing 63 grams valued at P428,400, the police said.Alias “Bo...

Rep. Jocelyn Limkaichong, Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan, NEDA NIR Regional Director Arecio A. Casing Jr. and Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson (l-r)  at the unveiling of the regional office marker.*Richard Malihan photoNational Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said NEDA will play a pivotal role in crafting the  first Regional Development Plan of the Negros Island Region (NIR).It will be “a blueprint to harness growth, foster resilience and ensure no community is left behind”, he said.Balisacan, who led the inauguration of the NEDA NIR Regional Office at the Carlos Hilado Memorial State University  (CHMSU)  Alijis Campus in Bacolod City on Monday, M...

Formal charges will be filed against several Bago City Hospital medical practitioners in connection with a complaint against them for the death of a baby in February, Bago Mayor Nicholas Yulo said on Monday, March 10.Yulo, acting on the complaint of the baby’s father on social media, created a fact-finding committee to investigate the matter.The father claimed there was negligence on the part of the hospital staff that caused his son to die and his wife to be in critical condition.His wife was in labor for 12 hours and asked to give birth by cesarian, but her request was not heeded, the father said.Yulo said the fact-finding committee concluded that substantial evidence exists to establish the fact that the medical practitioners involved “committed lapses in doing their dut...

Policemen stand guard at the gate of the Bayawan City East Elementary School in Bayawan City, Negros Oriental, on Monday.*NOPPO photoThe police in Negros Oriental on Monday, March 10, guaranteed the safety of thousands of delegates to the 2025 Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) meet, which will be held in Bayawan City from Tuesday to Sunday, March 11 to 16.Lt. Stephen Polinar, spokesperson of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NOPPO), said 300 police personnel were deployed over the weekend to Bayawan City and nearby towns to secure the venues for the games and the delegations' billeting.“The sporting events will primarily be held at the Bayawan-Sta. Catalina campus of the Negros Oriental State University (NORSU), while the Department of Education...

The Comelec en banc moved the last day of filing of LAV applications to March 17 from March 10.* PNA/Joan Bondoc photoThe Commission on Elections (Comelec) has approved requests to extend the period to apply for local absentee voting (LAV) in the May 12 polls.In Resolution 11120, the Comelec en banc moved the last day of filing of LAV applications to March 17 from March 10."In light of numerous requests for extensions of the aforementioned deadlines from various government units, offices, agencies, and departments and considering the observance of Holy Week from April 17 to April 20, 2025, the Commission deems it necessary to amend Comelec Resolution No. 11091," it said.The poll body said accomplished original LAV Form No. 01 and original LAV Form No. 02 for local absentee ...

The PDFEA drug bus in Brgy 8*Agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) - Negros Occidental arrested a teenager and seized suspected shabu worth P260,000 in a buy-bust operation in Purok Narra Bay-Bay, Brgy. 8, Bacolod City, Friday, March 7,Arrested was alias “Mak-Mak”, 19, a high value drug personality tagged as a “drug dealer”, the PDEA said.They seized 65 grams of suspected shabu from him, the PDEA said.Mak-Mak, a junior high school student, is facing charges for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, the PDEA added.*