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A Silaynon  was stabbed  dead  allegedly by his drinking companions at Zulueta Street, Brgy. 4, Silay City, Negros Occidental,  2:40 a.m. Wednesday, May 8. Ryan Flores, 21, a resident of Paghidaet in Brgy. Mambulac, Silay City,  was stabbed by two suspects, the police said.  The suspects were identified as Emilowe Delumpa, 29, a factory worker, and Ricky Ogawa, 26, a student, also  from Brgy. Mambulac. Police investigation revealed that prior to the incident  the victim and the suspects were under the influence of liquor when suddenly Ogawa punched the victim. The three grappled with each other and when they were pacified, the victim was noticed to have three stab wounds on his stomach. The victim was brought t...

The Negros Occidental provincial government is bracing for the La Niña effects.*Ronnie Baldonado photo El Niño has started to weaken  and slight rains are expected by mid-May in Negros Occidental, Irene Bel Ploteña, Provincial Disaster Management Program Division head, said on Tuesday, May 7. An advisory from state weather bureau PAGASA states that the slight rains in mid-May will be the start of the transition to La Niña and the habagat (south west monsoon) season, she said. Negros Occidental Gov. Lacson said with La Niña “yes there will be rain, but I hope it will not be typhoons”. More people will affected by La Niña typhoons than El Niño because it will cause the evacuation of families, he said. We are just hoping it will not be as bad ...

President Rodrigo Duterte (center) in Dumaguete City Tuesday night* Former president Rodrigo Duterte attended a prayer rally for peace organized by local group Hakbang ng Maisug at the Quezon Park in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, on Tuesday night despite the revocation of the group’s rally permit.Duterte called President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s performance a “dismissal failure” in his speech at the Quezon Park and urged the Filipino people to oppose Charter Change.Duterte and his party initially gathered outside the Freedom Park at the Negros Oriental Capitol where supporters chanted his name and called for the resignation of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.“BBM resign, BBM resign”, the crowd shouted.Duterte and his allies spoke from the back of a truck that was ...

Barangay Captain Noli Villarosa*The Ombudsman has suspended Barangay Captain Noli Villarosa of Tangub, Bacolod City, for six months, the mayor’s spokesman Caesar Distrito confirmed on Tuesday, May 7. The suspension order was served by a representative of the Department of the Interior and Local Government on Monday, he said.Kagawad Luz Atienza will be the acting Tangub barangay captain for the duration of the suspension order, Distrito said.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 Villarosa delayed   the salaries of barangay employees who would then have to borrow mon...

Dried up farmland in Negros Oriental.*PNA/ Mary Judaline Partlow photo Damage to crops and other agricultural losses in Negros Oriental reached over P541 million due to the El Niño-induced drought. El Niño effects have caused production loss of around P541.4 million since December last year, the Department of Agriculture-Provincial Agriculture Technology Coordinating Office in Negros Oriental reported on Tuesday, May 7.The report said some 1,410 hectares of land affected by drought are totally damaged and have no chance of recovery, while roughly 3,607 hectares are partially damaged. Production loss in value, including rice, corn, high-value crops, fisheries and livestock, was pegged at over 9,560 metric tons.  El Niño has affected 21 towns and ...

A businessman was arrested after the police caught him allegedly smuggling cigarettes worth P100,000 at a checkpoint at  C.L. Ledesma Avenue, Brgy. 1, San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, 10:45 p.m.  Monday,   May 6. Arrested was  a 45-year-old businessman whose name was withheld by the police. The  police flagged down the businessman’s  double cab pick-up at a checkpoint and  he failed to present a driver’s license. They checked the car in plain view and saw four boxes of cigarettes worth P100,000, the police said. The suspect was arrested and is now detained at the  San Carlos City Police Station.* 

A man was found dead in a creek in Hacienda Basa 1, Brgy. 13, Victorias City, Negros Occidental, 9:30 p.m. on Monday, May 6. The  34-year-old resident of  Barangay 13, whose name was withheld by the police, was found  floating in the creek and lifeless. The victim had been  drinking alcohol with a neighbor and went to fetch water. The family of the victim said  he was suffering from epilepsy and they believe  there was no foul play involved in his death, the police said.* 

The seized firearms* Government soldiers  seized high-powered firearms in a  series of encounters with  New People’s Army remnants  in Sitio Tagok, Brgy. Carol-an, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental,  on  Monday, May 6. The  94th Infantry Battalion engaged members of the dismantled Central Negros 2 Komiteng Rehiyon- Negros Cebu Bohol Siquijor (CN2 KR-NCBS) in a series of encounters, the 3rd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army reported. The first encounter transpired at about 3:39 p.m. as the troops were conducting combat operations in response to a tip-off from the local populace on the presence of more or less nine NPA members. The second encounter ensued at about 4:41 p.m. where the Army troopers engaged with sev...