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It will be a battle between Mayor Joedith Gallego and former mayor Mark Golez for the top post of Silay City in 2025.Golez won over Councilor Ryan Gamboa to be the Asenso Silay standard bearer at the group’s convention convened by Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) and Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez at the Victorias Coliseum on Saturday, May 11.“I am accepting the nomination based on the results of the convention to be the official standard bearer of Asenso Silay in the 2025 polls,” Golez told DIGICAST NEGROS on Monday.Golez said it was attended by 4,574 Asenso Silay family leaders.Golez won with 2,775 votes over Councilor Ryan Gamboa who garnered 1,784 votes. There were 15 spoiled ballots.Prior to the convention Mayor Benitez consulted with the ba...

The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) apprehended 205 persons for illegal gambling in April, which was the highest in Western Visayas.The Western Visayas police conducted 127 anti-illegal gambling operations that resulted in 391 arrests and the confiscation of P206,328 in bet money in April, the Police Regional Office-6 reported.Of the 391 arrests, NOCPPO arrested 205 persons in 71 operations while the Bacolod City Police Office arrested 41 in 11 operations.The Iloilo Police Provincial Office arrested 17 persons, Capiz - 15, Iloilo City - 69, Antique - 16, Aklan - 17 and Guimaras - 11.PRO-6 Director BGen. Jack Wanky said that despite the laudable performance, he is urging all unit commanders to intensify their campaign against illegal gambling.“Those w...

Moises Padilla LGU photoThe Negros Occidental Sangguniang Panlalawigan has approved the 2024 budget of Moises Padilla town that in effect also ratified the P1 million allocation of the Sangguniang Bayan that was earlier questioned by the town’s vice mayor.The Negros Occidental SP approved the joint resolution declaring as valid, effective, and in compliance with all legal requirements, the appropriation of Ordinance No. 2023-004 of the Municipality of Moises Padilla for  fiscal year 2024.On Dec. 22, 2023, the town’s Vice Mayor Adrian Villaflor requested a review of the 2024 Annual General Fund Budget of Moises Padilla “with particular scrutiny on the allocations for the Sangguniang Bayan Office”, the resolution said.The resolution said that there were concerns of alleged ab...

The buy bust operation at Purok Mabinuligon, Brgy. 30, Bacolod City.*BCPO photoThe Bacolod City police arrested eight individuals and seized suspected shabu worth P265,200 in a series of buy-bust operations during the weekend, May 11 and 12.Jomarie Descartin, 37, was arrested in an operation in Purok Arao, Brgy. Vista Alegre, 2:34 a.m. on Saturday, the police said.Confiscated from him were 17 grams of suspected shabu valued at P115,600.Stephen Ramos, 35, Erwin Campos, 39, Niño Sagayno, 31, were also arrested for violation of P.D. 1602 (illegal gambling) and the search was incidental to a lawful arrest for violation of R.A. 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002), the police said.Recovered from them were gambling paraphernalia, suspected shabu worth P6,800, drug...

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson led the ceremonial distribution of P1.5 million in cash incentives to all Negros Occidental athletes who won medals in the recent Western Visayas Regional Athletic Association Meet (WVRAA) at rites held at the Capitol Social Hall in Bacolod City on Monday, May 13.The coaches, assistant coaches, chaperones, and trainers also received cash incentives.Lacson said athletes who won gold medals received P1,500 each, silver – P1,000, and bronze - P700.Negros Occidental won 64 gold, 64 silver, and 49 bronze medals in the Elementary Division, and 88 gold, 86 silver, and 73 bronze medals in the Secondary Division.Lacson, in his speech, told the athletes the incentives are a symbol of appreciation, not the reason for or the end goal of why they compete.“Be...

Some 1,151 traditional public utility jeepneys in Bacolod City were consolidated and are expected to continue plying various routes after Wednesday, May 15.Salvador Altura Jr., Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) officer-in-charge Regional Director for Western Visayas, said the number represents about 50 percent of the traditional jeepneys in Bacolod, considering that 1,150 units have remained unconsolidated.“These 1,151, on the assumption that these are all operational, will get stickers. And with the additional 600 modernized units, about 1,700 vehicles will ply the routes in Bacolod,” Altura said in a radio interview on Monday.He said although there are still unconsolidated jeepneys, “their numbers will not affect the sufficiency of public utility ve...

The Kabataan Partylist - Negros on Monday, May 13, said it “vehemently condemns the intimidation, psychological harassment, and constant illegal surveillance by the state forces” on Florence Guzon, KPL-Negros’ secretary general.On April 25 state elements went to Guzon’s residence in Talisay City and scouted for information, mainly through his mother, without a legal search warrant, a KP-N press release said.They also red-tagged Guzon by insinuating that he has alleged ties to the New People’s Army (NPA), an assertion that is both false and baseless, it said.The state elements also requested to enter Guzon’s room to take photos of his personal belongings. The presence of nationalist and progressive readings in his room was used to link him to being a member of the NPA, the KP-N ...

Brig. Gen. Orlando Edralin, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander*The Philippine Army is calling on Negrenses to stand up against violence amid the summary executions perpetrated by remnants of the New People’s Army (NPA).Seven civilians were killed in Negros Occidental in  the past weeks.In a statement on Monday, Brig. Gen. Orlando Edralin, commander of 303rd Infantry Brigade based in Murcia, condemned the violence, calling it “not only abhorrent but also a gross violation of human rights and the principles of humanity.”“I am calling all Negrenses to report the presence of NPA terrorists in your community and let our voices resonate in demanding an end to the senseless killings of innocent civilians,” he said.Edralin asked NPA remnants and their allied armed groups to ...

Brgy Captain  Caesar Distrito and Kagawad  Dennis Perma meet with Maj. Peter John Pesuena, Police Regional Office Administrative Division head,  and Maj. Eugene Tolentino, who represented Col. Noel Alino, Bacolod police director, to discuss the lot donation.*The Brgy Singcang Airport Council has informed the Philippine National Police that it is willing to donate a 500-square meter lot for the permanent location of the Bacolod Police Station 8.The lot is located beside the SM property that was once the old airport runway, at JR Torres Subdivision, Singcang Airport Barangay Captain Caesar Distrito said on Monday, May 13.Brgy Singcang-Airport owns a 4,000-square meter property in the area where its gym is located, and will also be the future site of the barangay’s ...

Sugar leaders Enrique Rojas, Manuel Lamata and Aurelio Valderrama Jr.*Sugar planters are praying the rains will come soon to help their crops recover.The Sugar Regulatory Administration on Friday said the drought damage to sugar and molasses in Western Visayas was P215,700,114, with Negros Occidental the hardest hit at P200,178,856.“We have received reports from our planter-members that the drought had substantially decreased the tonnage of their cane harvest this crop year. Even their new plantings for the next crop year had been adversely affected,” Enrique Rojas, National Federation of Sugarcane Planters president, said.“The drought will definitely have a significant impact on the sugar industry, but until SRA comes up with the latest production report for this crop yea...