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The Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office recovered more than 300 firearms in the first three months of implementation of COMELEC gun ban.The 296 firearms were seized and recovered during police operations while 42 were deposited for safekeeping under "Oplan Katok," the NOPPO reported."Oplan Katok" allows owners of firearms with expired registrations to temporarily place them under police custody until they have renewed licenses.The gun ban that is being imposed during the election period will last until June 11.The NOPPO also conducted 17,095 check point operations in Negros Oriental to ensure the security of the public amid the ongoing national and local elections.Lt. Stephen Polinar, NOPPO spokesperson, said they are reminding the public not to bring firearms outs...

Skeletal remains of an unidentified person were found in a sugarcane field in Hacienda Lopue, Brgy. Mansilingan, Bacolod City, Thursday morning, April 3.Edmund Bornales, a farm worker and in charge of the plantation, found the skeletal remains scattered in the field at about 7 a.m., the police reported.There were pieces of clothing and other personal belongings that were also found in the area. The police have yet to determine if the skeletal remains were of a man or a woman.The Scene of the Crime Operatives have already gathered samples from the remains for DNA testing, the police said.The Bacolod Police Station 7 have also sought the help of the Philippine National Police Forensic Unit to assist in the investigation.*

The new Provincial Administration Center in Bacolod City is expected to be completed and operational next year, Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Thursday, April 3.The structure is almost complete but there is still work to be done inside, he said.Earlier, it was said that the 7-storey building on Aguinaldo Street was targeted to be completed in June this year.Construction was started by Dynamic Builders, the contractor of the building in 2022.The nearly P1 billion project, which includes furniture and fixtures, will house the various provincial government offices.Currently, the provincial government offices are in different buildings.Lacson said he wants the governor’s office to remain at the Provincial Capitol building that is the symbol of Negros...

A driver died when his motorcycle hit a tanker truck along the highway in Purok Guanzon, Brgy. Mansilingan, Bacolod City, Thursday, April 3.The fatality was alias “Anthony”, 40, a construction worker and resident of Hacienda Kabuhihan, Brgy. Vista Alegre, Bacolod, the police said.The victim was on his way home from work and overtook a vehicle that led to his hitting an approaching tanker truck, the police said.The victim was thrown towards the middle of the road causing his death.The driver of the tanker is now under police custody*

Dr. Ramir Uytico (left), the newly appointed regional director of the Department of Education-Negros Island Region, during the turnover of a school building at the South City Elementary School in Dumaguete City.*PNA /Mary Judaline F. Partlow photoThe Department of Education in the Negros Island Region (DepEd-NIR) intends to replicate rural farm schools in Negros Oriental and Siquijor, an official said on Thursday, April 3.Dr. Ramir Uytico, newly-appointed DepEd-NIR regional director, announced this during the inauguration of a brand-new school building at the South City Elementary School in Barangay Mangnao, Dumaguete City.“We want to replicate the establishment of the farm schools because until now, and it is on record, that it is only Region 6 that has established the first 3...

The Bacolod City Police Office confiscated P8.6 million worth of suspected shabu in March.BCPO operative also arrested 56 suspects in its various anti-illegal drug operations in Bacolod.They also arrested 11 most wanted and 32 other wanted persons, and 44 others in 13 operations against illegal gambling.The Bacolod police also recovered 24 loose firearms and 21 explosives.*

Philippine Red Cross personnel continue to assist the evacuees in La Castellana*PRC photoThe Negros Occidental provincial government has enough funds from the national government and its 2024 budget to feed the evacuees displaced by Kanlaon Volcano’s unrest for another month, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Thursday, April 3.There are 5,657 evacuees who remain in evacuation centers in Negros Occidental, with 77 in Bago City, 1,111 in La Carlota City, 4,264 in La Castellana, and 205 in San Carlos City, , Regional Director Donato Sermeno III of the Office of Civil Defense Negros Island Region said.The majority of them have been staying in the evacuation centers for nearly four months, having left their homes when Kanlaon Volcano erupted on Dec. 9They will not be a...

Negros Occidental will have near normal rainfall in April, a Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration forecast shows. Near normal rainfall means   81 to 120 percent rainfall, Irene Bel Ploteña, head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, said on Thursday, April 3.The expected maximum rain will be 50 millimeters in April, she said.More rain is expected in May, with a possibility that it could be way above normal, she said.The above normal rain could be more than 120 percent, Ploteña  said.“We can expect about 200 millimeters of rain in May”, Ploteña  said.Ploteña  said  the La Niña period is still on so even though it is summer there will be no drought.There will be rain and localized thunderstorms, she sa...

Former senator Leila de Lima said on Thursday, April 3, that while she is filing a case against former president Rodrigo Duterte, it will have to take a backseat now as far as cases to be filed in the Philippines are concerned since he will not be returning to the country anytime soon.Duterte remains detained in The Hague in the Netherlands where he is facing charges for crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court.“I might join instead the group of victims in The Hague,” she said.“Although I was not killed, I was definitely threatened, intimidated, harassed, falsely accused, and unjustly imprisoned by Duterte. If asked, I am willing to testify about what was done to me in order for Duterte to silence opposition to the drug war”, de Lima said.De Lima at a...

The newly appointed Commission on Population and Development (CPD)–Negros Island Region staff presented Negros Occidental’s award and certificates for its performance in population and development programs to Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson at the Capitol in Bacolod City on Thursday, April 3.The CPD–NIR Interim Staff were led by the commission's Central Visayas regional director Bruce Ragas and Western Visayas regional director Harold Alfred Marshall.The award presented to the governor recognizes Negros Occidental’s Population and Development Division as one of the Outstanding Population Offices in Western Visayas.The province also received a Certificate of Recognition for achieving the Highest Regional Population and Development (RPD) Database Utilization and Support in the Imp...