Top Stories

"Don’t wait for your illness to get worse," Marjorie Cabrieto, PhilHealth Regional Vice President, said.*CPG photoThe Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) appealed to Negrenses on Thursday, August 27, to enroll in its expanded Yaman ng Kalusugan Program (YAKAP) amid a low  turnout in Negros Occidental.Enrolling in  YAKAP allows PhilHelth members to access free preventive care and essential medical services that would prevent costly hospitalizations, PhilHealth officials said at a press conference in Bacolod City.Janimhe Jalbuna, head of the PhilHealth-Western Visayas public affairs unit, reported that  only 293,506 members and dependents in the province had registered with YAKAP clinics as of July 31.This represents just 9.04 percent of Negros Occid...

Bacolod City Mayor Greg Gasataya, in coordination with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Office of the President, led the distribution of financial assistance checks to all 61 barangays at the Bacolod City  Government Center on Thursday, August 27, strictly enforcing a requirement that no student scholars are relatives of incumbent barangay officials.Under the "Bawat Barangay Makikinabang" program—funded through the Socio-Civic Projects Fund under the Local Government Support Fund—each barangay received ₱200,000. The allocation is split evenly: ₱100,000 to fund five Presidential Scholars (₱20,000 each) and ₱100,000 for a local community development project.To ensure conflict-of-interest safeguards, Gasataya mandated that all barangay captains s...

NUJP secretary-general Len Olea, Marchel  Espina, lawyer  Vincent Bohol, and NUJP-NCR chair Paul Soriano (L-r) at the Batangas Court.*Negrense Marchel Espina, a National Union of Journalists of the Philippines director, was arraigned Thursday, August 27, before the Batangas City Regional Trial Court in connection with the “unjust vexation” charge filed against her.Shortly before the scheduled arraignment, Espina’s camp filed a motion to quash the case. The court denied the motion, and the arraignment proceeded. The case will now move to pre-trial, with the first hearing set for September 24., NUJP reported.The charge was filed by a local leader of a religious group over an opinion piece published by SunStar Cebu in December 2024, when Espina was the paper’s editor-in-chief....

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology-Negros Island Region and the Cadiz City government have signed a deed of donation for the planned new Cadiz City Jail facility.The signing was held at Cadiz City Hall on Tuesday, Aug. 25, as part of preparations for the development of a new jail facility aimed at improving custodial conditions and rehabilitation services for persons deprived of liberty, a press release from the BJMP-NIR said.The BJMP-NIR delegation was led by Regional Director JCSupt. Brendan Fulgencio, together with regional logistics chief JCInsp. Bryan Donasco and Cadiz City Jail acting warden JSInsp. Joseph Anthony Bayan.They met with Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. before formally signing the deed of donation.BJMP-NIR said officials also discussed the ...

Personnel from the City Legal Office (CLO) Enforcement Team and the Bacolod Traffic and Transportation Management Department (BTTMD) held a briefing on Thursday, August 27, to ensure the observance of maximum tolerance as the Bacolod City Government intensifies road-clearing operations.BTTMD Officer-in-Charge  Reuben Mikhail Sabig reiterated the directive of City Legal Officer Karol Joseph Chiu during the briefing following the circulation of a video online showing a member of the city enforcement team involved in a verbal altercation with a vendor at the Libertad Public Market.Sabig, who also supervises the CLO Enforcement Team, stressed that personnel must remain professional and respectful while performing their duties and must always operate within the bounds of their auth...

Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez (Neg. Occ. 3rd District)*Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez (Neg. Occ. 3rd District) welcomed the release of P1 billion for Project NOAH but said the disaster risk program should eventually have permanent funding instead of depending on annual budget decisions.In a statement Thursday, Aug. 27, Benitez said the allocation would strengthen the University of the Philippines Resilience Institute’s work on flood forecasting, hazard mapping and disaster preparedness.The Department of Budget and Management announced on Aug. 24 that it released P1 billion to the UP System for Project NOAH, including P935 million for research services and P65 million for general management and supervision.The funding will support AI-enhanced flood modeling, LiDAR mapping, real-ti...