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Toboso Mayor Madonnah Jaojoco and Vice Mayor Maria Luisa dela Cruz*Toboso Mayor Madonnah Jaojoco and Vice Mayor Maria Luisa dela Cruz will seek reelection in 2025.This was disclosed by Councilor Richard Jaojoco, the mayor’s husband, on Wednesday, May 8.  Richard Jaojoco, who was former mayor of the town, said he will also seek reelection as councilor. His wife may be challenged by his first cousin former mayor Evello Valencia, the councilor said. Valencia challenged him for mayor of Toboso in 2019 and his wife in 2022 but lost, he added. The councilor said he took his oath as Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan member during the term of former president Rodrigo Duterte and does not   know if he is still a member of the party.&n...

Aid distributed to the Kabankalan evacuees.*Kabankalan LGU photoEvacuees in Barangay Carol-an, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, who evacuated following armed encounters between government soldiers and the New People's Army (NPA) have gone home.Government soldiers seized high-powered firearms in a series of encounters with the NPA in Sitio Tagok, Brgy. Carol-an, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, on Monday, May 6.The Kabankalan City government led by Mayor Benjie Miranda distributed assistance to the evacuees.The City Social Welfare and Development Office said food packs and water were distributed to 115 families or 430 individuals.The City Health Office supplied diapers and medicine, while the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office delivered water.The Departm...

Col. Rainerio De Chavez (third from left), police provincial director, and Talisay City Vice Mayor Jose Nicolas Jalandoni III (right) led the launching of "Project Dasig".*PNA/Nanette  Guadalquiver photo The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) launched Wednesday afternoon, May 8,  an anti-criminality reporting system designed to quickly respond to requests for assistance from business establishments in the 12 component cities in the province. Dubbed "Project Dasig," it will use the One Button SMS (short message service) mobile application to streamline and expedite the crime reporting process. "Dasig" is the Hiligaynon word for fast or quick. The initiative was launched at the Talisay  City Police Station, with a simulation exercise ...

Barangay Bandila SK chairman Renan Tapang* A 23-year-old Sangguniang Kabataan chairman in Toboso, Negros Occidental, was electrocuted and declared dead at a Sagay City hospital on Wednesday morning, May 8, Councilor Richard Jaojoco said. Renan Tapang of Barangay Bandila was changing a light bulb in his house when   he was electrocuted. He had just taken a bath and was in a hurry to go to the Toboso municipal hall to submit the lineup of players of his barangay for the games set for the town fiesta, Jaojoco said. The victim’s wife panicked and it took about 10 minutes to find someone to turn off the electricity, Jaojoco said.* 

Suspended Tangub Barangay Captain Noli Villarosa*Barangay Captain Noli Villarosa of Tangub, Bacolod City, will file a motion for reconsideration to his six-month suspension by the Ombudsman, his lawyer Dindo Ramos said on Wednesday, May 8.If the Ombudsman denies his motion for reconsideration they will file a petition for certiorari before the Court of Appeals because his client is innocent of the charges lodged against him, Ramos said. The Department of the Interior and Local Government served Villarosa’s suspension order on Monday. The suspension stemmed from a complaint filed by Kagawad   Katrina Joan Sonota and Dindo Amadeo against Villarosa in July 2022 for conduct unbecoming of a public official and grave misconduct. They alleged that Vill...

The City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council headed by Mayor Renato Gustilo met on Monday to recommend the declaration of a state of calamity.*San Carlos LGU photo San Carlos City in Negros Occidental is now under a state of calamity.  The San Carlos Sangguniang Panlungsod approved the recommendation of the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (CDRRMC) headed by Mayor Renato Gustilo on Monday, Joe Recalex Alingasa Jr., City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office head, said Wednesday, May 8. The CDRRMC unanimously approved a resolution on Monday recommending the SP declaration of a state of calamity because of the “devastating and widespread impacts of the drought” brought on by the El Niño phenomenon on San Carlos City.The City A...

The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office recorded the highest number of arrested wanted persons in Western Visayas in April, the Police Regional Office-6 reported on Wednesday, May 8. PRO-6 reported that 499 most wanted and other wanted persons were arrested in 425 police operations in Western Visayas in April. The nabbed individuals in April were higher than in   March at 496. NOCPPO arrested 191 other wanted persons, the highest among other police offices in Region 6, while it tied with Iloilo for the highest number of most wanted persons nabbed at 14. The Capiz PPO arrested 13 most wanted individuals while the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) had 9, the Aklan PPO, Antique PPO, and Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) - 7 each, Criminal In...

Councilor Celia Flor*  Members of the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod approved on first reading three proposed ordinances on the prohibition of online-sexual exploitation of children, strengthening of the local AIDS Council, and the establishment of animal welfare desks in all barangays, during their   regular session, Wednesday, May 8. The proposed ordinances were all authored by Councilor Celia Matea Flor, who is the committee chairperson on Women, Gender, Family and Childcare, Laws, Ordinances, and Good Government. The proposed ordinances were all authored by Councilor Celia Matea Flor, who is the SP committee chairperson on Women, Gender, Family and Childcare, Laws, Ordinances, and Good Government.Among the prohibited acts stipulated at the proposed ordinance a...

The Silay City drug bust*A school watchman was arrested and P115,600 worth of suspected shabu was seized in a buy-bust operation at Hacienda Hinicayan, Brgy. E. Lopez, Silay City, Negros Occidental, 1:52 p.m.  Wednesday, May 8, the police reported. Arrested was Bryan Celestial, 37, a job order employee of the Silay City government working  as a  watchman at the  Hinicayan Elementary School. Seized from him were eight heat-sealed sachets of suspected shabu weighing 17 grams and an improvised tooter, the police said. The recovered shabu was brought to the Police Provincial Forensic Unit, while the suspect is detained at the Silay City Police Station.*