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Personnel of San Carlos Component City Police Station in Negros Occidental put up the OPLAN Ligtas Summer Vacation streamer at their headquarters*The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) has set up 278 police assistance desks (PADs) to secure travelers across the province as part of the Philippine National Police’s OPLAN Ligtas Summer Vacation (SUMVAC) 2025.“The OPLAN Ligtas SUMVAC guarantees the safety and security of both residents and visitors during the extended holiday period,” NOCPPO Director Col. Rainerio de Chavez said in a statement on Monday, April 7.At the same time, NOCPPO reminded the public “to remain vigilant against elements who may attempt to exploit the vacation rush to commit crimes.”The PADs, which are located in recreational areas, religi...

Silay city Councilor Mike Maravilla, Mayor Joedith Gallego, Negros Power President/CEO Roel Castro and chief operating officer Bailey del Castillo (l-r) at the MOA signing.*Negros Electric and Power Corp. (Negros Power) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Silay City government to provide safe, legal, and reliable electricity to more than 5,000 informal settler households “in a groundbreaking move toward inclusive development and public safety”.The MOA signing took place in Silay City on Friday, April 4, and was attended by Mayor Joedith C. Gallego, Councilor Mike Maravilla, Negros Power President and CEO Roel Z. Castro, and other officials.The agreement addresses the urgent need to replace hazardous, illegal connections with legitimate, metered electricity in unders...

A car that was going to a hospital turned upside down after it bumped a cement block at the center road at the Bacolod-Negros Occidental Economic Highway in Brgy. Mansilingan, Bacolod City, at about 8:20 p.m. Sunday, April 6.The cement block was reportedly intended to be used for a post to be put up at the center to toad.The car came from Brgy. Canlandog, Murcia, and was going to the Teresita Lopez Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City.The vehicle allegedly overtook a motorcycle which caused it to hit the cement block.The four persons in the vehicle were not injured but were still brought to the hospital, the police reported.*

Another farm worker died after he was trapped in a burning sugarcane field in Sitio Salay, Brgy. Tan-awan, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, on Sunday, April 6.The victim was identified as alias “Pepito”, 52, of Brgy. Tan-awan.The victim was burning waste in the sugarcane field when he was trapped resulting in suffocation and severe burns, the police said.Alias “Eleno”, 68, who was also trapped in a burning sugarcane field died in Sitio Omelis, Brgy. Poblacion, Cauayan, Negros Occidental, on Friday, April 4, the police reported earlier.*

A man was shot dead in a fight over garbage in Purok Narra, Brgy. Lopez Jaena, Murcia, Negros Occidental, at about 5 p.m. Sunday, April 6.Alias “Edgar”, 24, of Purok Narra died after alias “Arman”, 47, shot him, the police said.The victim was driving his tricycle loaded with cement when he was waylaid by the suspect who confronted him over garbage left in the middle of the road, the police said.A heated argument ensued resulting in a fistfight and the suspect shooting the victim several times with a .45 caliber pistol, the police reported.The suspect fled after the incident but was arrested near a school building by pursing policemen.Recovered from the suspect was a .45 caliber pistol with magazine and seven rounds of ammunition.The suspect is now under police custo...

Blood donors during the Dugtong Buhay Movement bloodletting activity at STI West Negros University in Bacolod City on Monday, April 7.*Ronnie Baldonado photoBudget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman on Monday, April 7, lauded the partnership between the public and private sectors to collect blood.Aligned with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s Bagong Pilipinas agenda, the bloodletting drive emphasizes the importance of community support for those in need, especially during emergencies, she said.“When schools, government agencies, organizations, and individuals come together with a shared purpose, we create a real impact,” Pangandaman said in her message at the Dugtong Buhay Movement joint bloodletting activity held at STI West Negros University in Bacolod City.Dugtong Buhay Move...

A senior citizen claims her social pension for the first quarter of 2025 amounting to P3,000.*The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Western Visayas (DSWD-6) on Monday said 133,221 indigent senior citizens in the region received a total of P399.663 million in social pensions for the first quarter of 2025, including in Negros Occidental. Each beneficiary received P1,000 per month or a total of P3,000 as provided under the Republic Act (RA) 11916 or An Act Increasing the Social Pension of Senior Citizens.“The Social Pension Program reflects the DSWD’s commitment to supporting the well-being of senior citizens, ensuring they have the resources to live with dignity and security,” the DSWD-6 said in a statement.As of March, the target beneficiaries, consisting of 52...

Driver Romer Estrada who was hospitalized for hypertension was discharged on Sunday.*A truck driver who was accused by a retired general of allegedly hitting the BMW motorcycle he was driving at Bangga LTO Highway in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod City, on Friday afternoon, was released on bail on Saturday, April 5.The driver Romer Estrada, 51, of Talisay City, who was hospitalized for hypertension following the incident, posted bail of P3,000.The driver was charged before the Bacolod City Prosecutor’s Office for reckless imprudence resulting in physical injury and damage to property for allegedly hitting the BMW B1200 driven by Lope Ma Ubaldo Lim, 51, of Sorsogon City, which he denied.The motorcycle with a temporary license plate was registered in the name Raulo Villarta of...

SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona*The United States imposition of an 18 percent tariff on sugar is no cause for alarm for now, Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona of the Sugar Regulatory Administration said on Sunday, April 6.The tariff was previously 10 percent and now the reciprocal tariff is set at 18 percent not 17 percent, he said.The explanation in the United States Department of Agriculture website is that the tariffs will be shouldered by the US importer, he said.The US buyers have not informed the Philippine exporters that they are passing on the payment of the tariff to them, Azcona said.Azcona said he is still waiting for the reply of Michael Ward, agricultural counselor of the Office of the Agricultural Affairs at the Embassy of the United States, to his le...

The NBI seized dental equipment during the entrapment operation.*The National Bureau of Investigation arrested a woman allegedly engaged in the illegal practice of dentistry in Brgy Alegria, Murcia, Negros Occidental, on Sunday afternoon.Arrested in an entrapment operation was a 38-year-old female of Barangay Alegria, Dr. Analie Gonzaga, Philippine Dental Association-Negros Occidental chapter president, said.She said the woman who was arrested for violation of Republic Act 9484, an Act that regulates the practice of dentistry in the Philippines, had previously worked as an assistant for two dentists.The arrested woman was allegedly engaged in installing braces, dentures, dental fillings and other procedures, Gonzaga said.They received a complaint from a patient that she...