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The Bureau of Fire Protection in La Carlota City delivering water to residents affected by Kanlaon Volcano’s recent explosive eruption.*La Carlota City Fire Station photoLocal government units (LGUs) affected by the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon in Negros Island will soon receive P63 million in additional financial assistance from the Office of the President (OP).“The additional financial assistance from President Bongbong Marcos is coming. We have all signed that, we are just waiting for it. The LGUs really need support, the funds of the province and the LGUs would not be enough. They really need the help of the national government,” Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno said in an interview during his visit to La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, Friday, April 1...

Jayvee Fuentebella and Jan Frederick Valenton (l-r)*Two graduates of the Technological University of the Philippines-Visayas (TUP-V) in Talisay City, Negros Occidental, topped the April 2025 Electronics Technicians Licensure Examination.Jayvee Fuentebella and Jan Frederick Valenton both landed in first place with a rating of 95 percent, the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC) said on Friday, April 11.They were scholars of the Department of Science and Technology.TUP-V graduate Bryan Mc Perry Guillang was also ranked eighth in the Electronics Engineers examination with an average of 90.3 percent.The TUPV was the number one and number two top performing school in the latest Electronics Technicians (ECT) and Electronics Engineer (ECE) Licensure Examinations, respectiv...

OCD Administrator Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno*The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) will dispatch water filtration machines to La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, to help address potable water shortage after the city's spring water sources were contaminated by ashfall during the explosive eruption of Mt. Kanlaon on April 8.OCD Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno, who met with Mayor Rex Jalando-on during his visit to the city on Friday, April 11, said the local chief executive discussed with him the needs of the affected residents.“We will send additional water filtration machines here. We have them from various regions and also from the OCD central office. That’s what Mayor Rex and I discussed. And if additional N95 masks are also needed and what else they need,” Nepomuceno said....

Civil Defense Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno visits the  Payag sang Kapag-on Village in Bago City  Friday morning.*Bago CDRRMO photo The Negros Occidental provincial government wants to relocate residents within Kanlaon Volcano’s 6-kilomter danger zone into permanent and safer relocation sites to restore normalcy into their lives, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said on Friday.“For us to be disaster resilient we have to get away from danger, it’s about time to wake up…we need to act now,” he said.There are currently 1,763 families with 5,678 members from La Castellana, La Carlota City, and Bago City who have been living in evacuation centers since the Dec. 9 eruption of Kanlaon Volcano.Authorities say they will have to live in evacuation centers until...

A policeman died after his motorcycle collided with a truck in Taytay Candaguit, Brgy. Baliwagan, San Enrique, Negros Occidental, on Thursday, April 10.Pat. Kenneth Casuya, 32, of Brgy. Miranda, Pontevedra, died after his motorcycle collided with a truck driven by Reymar Millena, 44, of Brgy. San Isidro, Pontevedra, the police reported Friday.Casuya, who is assigned at the Bacolod Police Station 9, was rushing to get to work.The truck was on the opposite lane.The policeman allegedly drove the motorcycle out of his lane at a curve in the road causing it to collide with the truck.The victim was brought to a hospital where he was declared dead.The family will file a case against the suspect who is now under police custody.*

The construction of the 7-storey new Negros Occidental Provincial Administration Center at Aguinaldo Street in Bacolod City is about 70 percent complete, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said on Friday, April 11.The construction of the building is targeted to be completed in June or August this year, but it is expected to be operational next year, he said.The PAC will house most of the provincial government offices.Furniture for the offices have already been chosen and are being purchased, Diaz said.However, power, water, Internet connections and other interior details, as well as moving in may take some time that is why full operations are expected by next year, he said.The new Negros Occidental Language and Information Technology Center building in Talisay Cit...

A man who was sitting on his hammock was shot dead by unidentified suspects in Hacienda Banilad I, Brgy. Nanca, E.B. Magalona, Negros Occidental,  on Wednesday, April 9.Killed was  Renant Belleza, 43, of Brgy Nanca.He sustained  gunshot wounds on his  head and chest, the police said. The police said they found  out that the victim was allegedly using illegal drugs along with other persons near his residence.*

Chief Science Research Specialist of the UP Resilience Institute Jose Abraham Ongkiko, OCD Administrator Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno, Victorias Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez and Disaster Preparedness Service Director III Caesar Agnir Jr. (l-r) at the MOA signing.*The Victorias City government formalized two separate agreements with the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and the Negros Association of Chief Executives (Negros ACE) to reinforce disaster preparedness and resilience at Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay City on Friday, April 11.The first Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed between Victorias and the OCD, aims to strengthen local disaster risk reduction and management efforts.This partnership marks a significant step in building a more disaster-resilient Victorias, a...

The Philippine Red Cross Negros Occidental - Bacolod City Chapter delivering water to affected communities in La Carlota City following Kanlaon's latest eruption.*PRC photoPotable drinking water is being rationed to about 12,000 residents of two barangays in La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, whose water sources were clogged and polluted by ash and sulfur spewed by Kanlaon Volcano during its 56-minute explosive eruption on Tuesday, April 8.Three springs in Barangay Araal where the La Carlota City Water District taps water have been affected, La Carlota City Mayor Rex Jalandoon said on Thursday, April 10.The ash covered the spring boxes, he said.This has affected 3,000 households or about 12,000 residents of barangays Araal and San Miguel.Affected are two Balagac...