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A joint police-military team examines vehicles at a checkpoint in Negros Oriental.*NOPPO photoSecurity forces in Negros Oriental have significantly bolstered election-related checkpoints as the local campaign period intensifies ahead of the May 12 midterm polls, police officials said Tuesday, April 1.The Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NOPPO) has expanded its daily checkpoint operations from an initial nine to a comprehensive network covering all major thoroughfares.Lt. Stephen Polinar, NOPPO spokesperson, attributed this escalation to both the creation of the new Negros Island Region Police Regional Office and the heightened mobility of candidates crisscrossing municipal boundaries.The 24-hour checkpoint system operates in three shifts, combining joint Comelec-PN...

Mayor Raymund Tongson and the 17 Himaya Queen candidates*The 17 candidates vying for the Himaya Queen 2025 crown were introduced at a sashing ceremony held at the jampacked Brgy. 1 Poblacion Gymnasium in Himamaylan City, Monday night, March 31.“Himaya Queen is not just a platform for ladies to showcase their beauty, wit, and talent, it is also a stepping stone for Himamaylanon beauty queens to join bigger national pageants,” Mayor Raymund Tongson said.The candidates, supported by their barangay councils, received their sashes from Tongson, a press release from Himamaylan City said Tuesday.The Himaya Queen 2025 candidates are Maria Teresa Banatasa (Brgy. Mambagaton), Jane Chloe Poblacion (Brgy. Talaban), Alyssa Delgado (Brgy. Saraet), Ellachristina KN Liboon (Brgy. 2), Rache...

Edsil Jess Adalid and his wife, Alexis, from Bais City are among the Filipinos reported missing following the magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Myanmar on Friday.* photo courtesy of Adalid familyThe local government of Bais City in Negros Oriental is assisting the families of two overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are still missing in Myanmar following the magnitude 7.7 earthquake on March 28.Mayor Luigi Marcel Goñi said Monday, March 31, that his office has written the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Central Visayas to endorse a request for family members to travel to Myanmar.“The families were here this morning and we are doing our best to arrange with the national government through the OCD the possible travel to Myanmar. We also have to follow their protocols considering that ...

Notices will be sent to several barangay captains in Negros Occidental to remove illegally posted campaign materials at barangay halls and government buildings, Provincial Elections Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria said on Monday, March 31.Ananoria said he was waiting for reports from the election officers in the towns and cities of Negros Occidental on the total number of barangay officials they will be sending notices.He has instructed the town and city election officers to send notices to barangay officials who have allowed campaign materials to be illegally posted on government property because that is abuse of state resources.Failure to remove illegally posted campaign materials would result in the filing of charges against the barangay captains and the candidates whose campai...

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson (right) led the Task Group Panaad Festival 2025 Deactivation Ceremony at the Panaad Park and Stadium Monday morning.* Richard Malihan photoThere were zero major crimes at the 29th Panaad Sa Negros Festival held from March 24 to 30, which was a resounding success, the Negros Occidental Provincial Police Office (NOCPPO) reported Monday, March 31.“The festival's success, in large part, can be attributed to the comprehensive security measures implemented throughout the week,” it said.A dedicated force of 1,063 security and emergency personnel was deployed, utilizing a range of resources including 17 patrol units, 20 motorcycles, four fire trucks, and ten ambulances, the NOCPPO said.The festival grounds were strategically divided into n...

There was abundant supply of fruits for sale at the Don Salvador Benedicto Pavilion at the Panaad sa Negros Festival.*Ronnie Baldonado photoThe Panaad sa Negros Festival at the Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod City drew huge crowds during the weekend but sales dropped by 13.76 percent compared to last year.The total festival sales from March 24 to 30 this year was P16,600, 630 compared to P19,250,439.50 at last year’s festival, or a drop by P2,649,809.Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said classes were still ongoing last week and a lot of Negrenses were focused on the start of the campaign period on Friday, which may have contributed to the low sales.However, there were huge crowds during the weekend, Lacson said.Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said sometimes not all ...

The purok Riverside, Brgy. Sum-ag, fire.*BFP photoFive houses were destroyed and one was damaged in two separate fires causing P1.37 million in damage in Bacolod City on Sunday and Monday, March 30 and 31, the Bureau Fire Protection (BFP)-Bacolod reported.Fire destroyed four houses and damaged one in Purok Bayanihan, Puentevella Subdivision, Brgy. Taculing on Monday.Estimated damage was about P25,000, the BFP said.Fire also destroyed the house of Victoria Celis in Purok Riverside, Brgy. Sum-ag, on Sunday.Estimated damage was P1,350,000, the BFP said.BFP personnel are still investigating the cause of fire in both incidents.*

Lin-ay sang Negros – Jada Biaxyl Celeste (center) first runner up Maxine Louise Martin of Ilog (right) and second runner up Julianah Cassandra Makilan of Manapla.*Ronnie Baldonado photoThe pageant journey of Jada Biaxyl Celeste, 21, the Victorias City beauty who was crowned the new Lin-ay sang Negros, has been like a Cinderella story.Just like the character in the fairytale, she was a house helper who  became a queen.Jada claimed a back-to-back win for Victorias City at the Lin-ay sag Negros pageant  of  the  Panaad sa Negros Festival before a crowd of about 9,000 at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City on Friday,  March 28.But behind her win is a story of hard work while growing up and helping her  grandmother who works as a housekeeper.She ...

The Commission on Elections in the Negros Island Region (Comelec-NIR) is ready for the delivery of thousands of automated counting machines (ACMs) that would be used in the May 12 midterm elections.Comelec-NIR assistant regional director Jossil Macute said on Monday, March 31, that the hubs where the ACMs will be stored upon arrival next month have already been identified.“The official cargo forwarder of the ACMs is closely coordinating with the Comelec and we have identified the hubs where these units are to be stored until they are delivered to the different local government units in the NIR,” Macute said.The ACMs, to be shipped via a commercial vessel, are expected to arrive on April 17. They will be stored at the holding areas until delivery to the LGUs a few days before th...

The Carabao Parade in Himamaylan City*The Himaya 2025 of Himamaylan City will be a week of thanksgiving, milestones, and unity, Mayor Raymund Tongson said as the seven-day festival kicked off on Monday, March 31, with a mass to celebrate the city’s charter day at the city hall lobby.“This year’s Himaya will be all about thanking for the blessings we have received and celebrating our multiple regional and national milestones while uniting as one Himamaylan,” Tongson said in a press release.March 31 to April 6 in Himamaylan City will be filled to the brim with activities that will excite Himamaylanons and visitors alike, he said.“We have prepared daily events that festivalgoers of all ages will look forward to, from the morning up until the evening,” Tongson said.“As we ...