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Rep. Alfredo Marañon III, Rep. Emilio Yulo III and Rep. Mercedes Alvarez (l-r)* Three Negros Occidental representatives voted against a bill reinstituting absolute divorce in the country, which was approved by the House of Representatives last week on third and final reading. There were 131 affirmative votes, 109 negative votes, and 20 abstentions. Among those who voted against House Bill (HB) 9349, or the proposed Absolute Divorce Act, were Rep. Alfredo Marañon III (Neg. Occ., 2nd District), Rep. Emilio Yulo III (Neg. Occ., 5th District) and Rep. Mercedes Alvarez (Neg. Occ., 6th District). Marañon said he voted against the bill because a priest at a mass he attended reminded the congregation that what God joined together in marriage, no human being must sepa...

Ryan Gamboa and Mark Golez (2nd and 3rd from left)  being  endorsed by Representatives  Steven Paduano and Francisco Benitez (right)  on Sunday*It will be a Mark Golez-Ryan Gamboa tandem  for   Team  Asenso in  Silay City, Negros Occidental, in  the 2025 midterm elections. Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) and  Rep. Stephen Paduano (Abang Lingkod partylist) endorsed  the candidacy of Golez  for mayor and Silay Councilor Ryan Gamboa for vice mayor, before  barangay  captains of Silay City on Sunday, May 26. Golez was chosen as the Aseso mayoral candidate of Silay over Gamboa in an earlier Asenso convention. Gamboa was in initially expected to run for mayor but  agreed to instead run for...

Fuel prices are expected to go up on Tuesday, May 28. Unioil Petroleum Philippines said diesel prices are forecasted to increase by P0.20 to P0.40 per liter. Gasoline prices are also forecasted to increase by P0.30 to P0.50 per liter, it added. Department of Energy-Oil Industry Management Bureau Director III Rodela Romero, on the other hand, said the price per liter of gasoline may go up by P0.45 to P0.65. Diesel prices may increase by P0.35 to P0.55 per liter, while kerosene prices are seen to go up by P0.45 to P0.60 per liter, she said.* 

Western Visayas’ fourth most wanted person for murder was arrested in Purok Everlasting, Brgy. Lacaron, Valladolid, Negros Occidental, on Friday, May 24. Arrested was Junior Villandro, 65, a farmer and resident of Purok Battalion, Brgy. Tabu, Ilog,  the police said. He was tagged as 4th most wanted in the region, and the most wanted person in Negros Occidental. The arrest was implemented by virtue of a warrant arrest for alleged murder issued by the  Regional Trial Court Branch 61  judge in Kabankalan City on Sept. 30, 2019 with no bail recommended. The suspect is now detained  at the  Ilog Police Station.*

A carpenter drowned in Purok Aguihis, Brgy. Canmoros, Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, on Saturday, May 25. The body of the 44-year-old carpenter, who was resident of Sitio Waning, Brgy. Payao in  Binalbagan,  was found  on the seashore. The victim had joined a drinking session with a friend from 6 p.m. of Friday until  2 a.m. the next day, police investigation revealed. Early in the morning a search for the victim led to the discovery of his lifeless body.*

PNU-V alumnus Renante de la Torre Jr. also placed 10th in the secondary level* Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. hailed Philippine Normal University-Visayas' (PNU-V) feat in the March 2024 Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET).Having 99.03 percent and  96 percent   passing rates for all first-time takers in the secondary and elementary levels, respectively, in the March 2024 LET was indeed an astonishing performance by  PNU-V Cadiz  worthy of praise that the local government of Cadiz can be proud of, Escalante said in a press release on Sunday, May 26.PNU-V alumnus Renante de la Torre Jr. also placed 10th in the secondary level among 85,980 examinees.  De la Torre, a Bachelor in Mathematics Education (BSME) 2023 graduate, garnered a weighted average ...

Digicast Negros was named  Digital Media Outlet of the Year  during the 23rd Bilib Awards rites of the A.B. Communication Students of the University of Saint La Salle at Circle Inn, Bacolod City, on Saturday, May 25.Digicast Negros, which produces news in Hiligaynon and English, was cited for its “exemplary dedication and service as a digital media outlet”. Digicast News Chief Romeo Subaldo said that he is thankful to the communication department of USLS for appreciating the outlet’s brand of news. “Being a journalist is a thankless job but receiving recognition from aspiring communicators is like receiving a thank you card”, he said, adding “It drives us to do better, to outdo ourselves”. The Bilib Awards is an annual activity of the communication students o...

Senate Majority Floor Leader Francis Tolentino speaking at the ROTC Games Visayas Qualifying Leg opening on Sunday.*Francis Tolentino FB page photo As the repeated tensions in the West Philippine Sea continue to simmer, newly installed Senate Majority Floor leader Francis Tolentino is confident his bill seeking to revive the Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (ROTC) for Filipino students will soon be signed into law. Speaking before the ROTC Games Visayas Qualifying Leg at the Panaad Park and Sports Stadium in Bacolod City on Sunday, May 26, Tolentino, a Brigadier General in the military reserves, reiterated that the ROTC program can very well serve its part in the country’s national defense program while instilling a deep sense of patriotism, nationalism, and discipline am...

Rep. Emilio Yulo III (Neg. Occ., 5th District) and Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson hope the expected Department Agriculture cloud seeding operations can still save badly damaged crops in Negros Occidental. The problem is not the lack of seedable clouds, the DA did not prepare a budget despite its knowing that El Niño would hit, Yulo said. The DA 6 this week said seedable clouds have been spotted in WV but the release of a budget for cloud seeding was still being followed up at its head office. Knowing the slow government process the horse may be dead by the time they start cloud seeding, Yulo said. We hope the cloud seeding can help but the damage has already been done, Yulo said. Lacson said the DA in March reported that there were no seedable clouds in Ne...

Central Negros Electric Cooperative power rates are expected to go down by at least P2 per kilowatt hour in June with the declaration of a red alert that sets a price cap, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez said on Friday, May 24. Ceneco’s power rate in May was P15.1632/kWh, from P11.9566/kWh in April. Benitez said he has asked the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to declare a red alert in Western Visayas, including Bacolod City, which would suspend Wholesale Electricity Sport Market trading so the power generation rates do not exceed P6.30/kWh. The mayor has asked CENECO to compute its power rates based on the red alert price cap to bring down its rates. Benitez has also called on the ERC to expedite the release of the provisional  authority for the im...