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BGen, Jack Wanky, Western Visayas police regional director,  and  PCol. Rainerio de Chavez,  Negros Occidental provincial police director (2nd and 1st from right) at the Negros Occidental Provincial Police  headquarters on Friday.*NOCPPO photoBrig. Gen. Jack Wanky, Police Regional Office 6 Director, reminded  the police in Negros Occidental not to entertain  any destabilization talks versus the  Marcos administration. Wanky, who  attended a command conference  at the Negros Occidental Provincial Police Headquarters at Camp Alfredo M. Montelibano Sr. in Bacolod City on Friday, May 17,  said we do not entertain such talks because we  belong to a very professional organization. There is high morale among the police, ...

The design perspective of the national government-funded Bacolod City General Hospital. * The national government-funded Bacolod City General Hospital, which will rise in Barangay Vista Alegre, will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities to boost the delivery of healthcare services to Bacolodnons. “This will be Bacolod’s first hospital run by the city. We will see a significant portion of this project completed next year,” Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said in a statement on Friday,  May 17. The Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) financed the construction of the 127-bed healthcare facility. Positioned as a state-of-the-art healthcare facility, it will feature amenities such as an emergency room, opera...

The Sugar Council lauded Sen. Imee R. Marcos on Thursday, May 16, for her stand against sugar importation and her advocacy to modernize sugar mills and farming practices.The senator expressed her views on the sugar industry during her recent aid distribution to distressed residents in the 4th and 5th Districts of Negros Occidental, the Sugar Council said in a press release Thursday, May 16.“We should not automatically resort to importation; as long as we can, we should first strengthen and support our local farmers. In the midst of last year’s importations, retail sugar prices spiked up to P136/kilo. Even with importation, retail prices didn’t go down; this is not right,” the senator pointed out.Citing reports that warehouses are still full of sugar from last year’s importation...

The Private-Public Partnership (PPP) Center has pipelined big ticket projects of the cities of Bacolod and Iloilo  for implementation under a PPP arrangement, the National Economic and Development Authority Western Visayas announced  Thursday, May 16.  The list includes Bacolod City’s Super City  Gateway Project (reclamation and development), and Underground Cabling Project (first phase); and Iloilo City’s High Capacity Bus System, USWAG Condominium Complex, and USWAG Residential Building Complex, the NEDA said. Pipelined projects refer to projects under procurement, competitive challenge, negotiation, approval, development, conceptualization, and initial evaluation by implementing agencies, it said.  The PPP Code Implementing Rules and Regula...

Members of Manibela stage a protest in downtown Bacolod.*Ronnie Baldonado photo  Drivers and operators of traditional jeepneys that failed to meet the   deadline for the consolidation of franchises under the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program gathered at Araneta Street in Bacolod City  on Thursday, May 16,  to protest their impending arrests.Rudy Catedral, president of the Bacolod Alliance for Commuters, Operators, and Drivers (BACOD)-Manibela, said 800 traditional jeepneys joined their protest in front of the old Bacolod airport and at the City Hall at Araneta Street. He said although the government deadline for unconsolidated traditional jeepneys to stop plying the streets was on May 15 they will defy the ban and continue to operat...

Two policemen, who were assigned in Negros Occidental, are under investigation for allegedly receiving protection money from financiers of illegal gambling. The two policemen were relieved from their assignments in Negros Occidental and transferred to the Regional Personnel Holding Accounting Unit at Camp Martin Delgado in Iloilo for investigation, PLt. Col. Arnel Solis, spokesman of the Police Regional Office 6, said on Thursday, May 16. A policeman from the Aklan Police Provincial Office is also being investigated for alleged involvement in illegal gambling.  The names of the policemen were withheld by Solis. PBrig. Gen. Jack Wanky, Western Visayas police regional director, said that he will "not spare anyone in the in the intensified campaign against ...

The police on Thursday, May 16,  identified the man  found dead inside a sack in Brgy. Cabatangan, Talisay City, Negros Occidental, on Wednesday. The  victim was identified as Jumon Espartero, 36, a resident of the GK Hope Village in  Brgy. Cabatangan. The victim was identified by his sibling through his shirt and tattoo, the police said. His  family said  he had been missing since May 12, the police added. The police are still investigating the motive for the killing and  the identification of the suspects.* 

A 46-year-old man  died after he was hit of the head with a metal cutter allegedly by the  live-in partner of his former girlfriend   in Brgy. Handumanan, Bacolod City,  on Wednesday, May 15. Ritchee Castro, was found dead  on the roadside  with  a wound on his head.Police investigation revealed that the victim was allegedly hit on the head with a metal cutter  by electrician Genny Medel, the live-in partner of his former girlfriend. Capt. Lelanie Lagoting, Police Station 10 commander,  said that the victim saw that the suspect and his live-in partner, who is pregnant,  having a heated argument. The victim attempted to pacify them resulting in the suspect getting a weapon and smashing it on his  head...

A 50-year-old man drowned at sea and was found near the shore fronting a beach resort in Brgy. San Isidro, Calatrava, Negros Occidental, on Wednesday, May 15. The victim who is a resident of Barangay Bagonbon, San Carlos, joined a drinking session with his family and friends at the resort, the police reported. He went for a swim unnoticed and one of his friends later saw his body floating near the shoreline. They sought assistance from the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office and brought the victim to the Calatrava Municipal Hospital. The victim was declared dead on arrival with findings of asphyxia by drowning. There was no foul play involved, the police reported.*

The Central Negros Electric Cooperative on Thursday, May 16, announced a P3.2066 increase per kilowatt-hour in its  electricity rates this month. CENECO said that there is an upward adjustment of P3.2066/kWh in May, from P11.9566 in April to P15.1632/kWh this month. The electric cooperative attributed the increase in the adjustment of generation charge by 31.96 percent, taking the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) price to P12.6706/kWh from P8.0879/kWh. CENECO also assured that only eight percent of the total rate for the month goes to their distribution, supply, and metering (DSM) charges with 92 percent going to the pass-through charges like generation and transmission charges. CENECO reminded consumers to conserve electricity to avoid paying high el...