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The most wanted person in E.B. Magalona, Negros Occidental, was arrested at Brgy. 1-Poblacion of the town on Tuesday, March 5.Lino Alberca Jr., 24, a student, was arrested for two counts of alleged sexual assault, the police said.He was apprehended by virtue of a warrant of arrest issued by the Regional Trial Court-6 Branch 40 judge in Silay City on March 1.Bail recommended is P600,000.The police tagged him as the most wanted person at the municipal level.The suspect is detained at the E.B. Magalona Police Station.* 

The drugs seized in Brgy. Vista Alegre, Bacolod City.*A street-level drug target was arrested with P54,400 worth of suspected shabu in Brgy. Vista Alegre, Bacolod City, on Tuesday, March 5, the police reported.Alias “Mel”, 25, was arrested in a buy-bust operation by operatives from Bacolod Police Station 7. Recovered from him were eight grams of suspected shabu, the police said.The suspect is now detained at Police Station 7 and will be charged for violation of the Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.*

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson at the provincial opening of the National Women's Month.*Richard Malihan photo The need for “a society that does not discriminate based on gender, one that allows women to demonstrate and prove their equal worth through their distinct and unique capacities alongside men in nation-building,” was stressed by Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson on Wednesday, March 6.Lacson led the provincial opening of the National Women's Month at Ayala Malls Capitol Central in Bacolod City attended by members of women councils and guests from Negros Occidental local government units.The participants at the provincial opening of National Women's Month on Wednesday.*Richard Malihan photo He said this year’s theme, "Lipunang Patas sa Bagong Pilipinas: Kakayahan n...

Senator Grace Poe at the Senate Committee on Public Services hearing on Tuesday.*  Senator Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Services, clarified that employees of Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO) could not be absorbed automatically by Negros Electric and Power Corporation (Negros Power).This was stressed by Poe during the committee hearing on the franchise bill of Negros Power on Tuesday, March 5.She believes there are employees of CENECO who are excellent in their jobs and deserve to be absorbed, but there are also lazy employees. So, it will be unfair to the joint venture company if they hire them automatically, Poe said.The Senator advocated that hiring of employees must be based on performance and not based on the age, gender...

If the Department of Agriculture feels that there is manipulation in the surge in the retail prices of pork let them investigate and make a report, Lacson said.*Ronnie Baldonado photoGov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Wednesday, March 6, that there has been a slight drop in pork prices in Negros Occidental.Maybe the drop can be attributed to   Bacolod City’s allowing pork products from other areas to enter the city, he said. However, if the Department of Agriculture feels that there is manipulation in the surge in the retail prices of pork let them investigate and make a report, Lacson said.The DA earlier said it is eyeing possible price manipulation in the surge in the retail prices of pork in the Visayas and Mindanao.Dr. Placeda Lemana, provincial veterin...

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and PCol. Rainerio de Chavez at the Negros Occidental Capitol in Bacolod City.*Richard Malihan photo  Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said he has instructed the new Negros Occidental police director, PCol. Rainerio de Chavez, to visit all of the 31 local government units in the province.He should familiarize himself with Negros Occidental, Lacson said on Wednesday, March 6.De Chavez, 49, assumed his post as head of NOCPPO on February 22.He previously headed the Batangas and Rizal provincial police offices and is a Philippine National Police Academy Class of 2000 graduate.The Philippine National Police has given its own marching orders for him to combat criminality, go after illegal drugs and keep peace and order, the governor said.“I told...

The signing of a joint resolution recommending the declaration of the province of Negros Occidental in a state of “Stable Internal Peace and Security”.*“Hopefully investors will feel more confident in investing in Negros Occidental knowing there is peace and order in the province.”That was the reaction of Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson on Wednesday, March 6, to the Negros Occidental Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Committee’s (JPSCC) signing of a joint resolution recommending the declaration of the province of Negros Occidental in a state of “Stable Internal Peace and Security”.The JPSCC  composed of the  302nd and 303rd Infantry Brigades, Negros Occidental Philippine National Police and the Philippine Coast Guard, approved and signed the recommendation on Friday, March 1, Lt. ...

Senator Grace Poe presides over a Committee on Public Services hearing on the  Negros Electric Power Corporation franchise bid on Tuesday afternoon,  March 5*The Senate Committee on Public Services held a hearing on the bill that seeks to grant the Negros Electric Power Corporation (NEPC) a franchise on Tuesday, March 5.Senator Grace Poe, Committee on Public Services chair, said in her opening statement that the agenda of the hearing was to focus on providing “accessible, affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity for all, especially in the middle of widespread and frequent brownouts and power interruptions in different parts of the country that make our countrymen suffer”.House Bill No. 9805 that seeks the NEPC franchise is a measure borne out...

The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) assured rice farmers served by the Bago River Irrigation System (BRIS) in Negros Occidental of maximum availability of water supply amid the drought due to El Niño experienced by the province.Engr. Isaias Melendez, division manager of NIA-Negros Occidental Irrigation Management Office (NOIMO), said on Tuesday, March 5, that they regularly monitor the water level in the Bago River Dam and in the main canals to determine how many hectares can be irrigated by the current level.“The NIA, for the main conveyance structures, will see to it that maximized availability of water from the dam can be supplied and utilized fully, efficiently, and effectively by our farmers for irrigation,” Melendez said in an interview over Bago City’s Radyo Bago....

The bag containing the body parts that was found in front of the NBI Bacolod office.*The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has identified the person whose frozen body parts were left in front of NBI Bacolod office last week.The body parts belong to a male drug personality from Bacolod City, NBI Bacolod chief Renoir Baldovino said on Tuesday, March 5. He, however, withheld the name of the person.Baldovino said a Technical Division team from the NBI headquarters in Manila is arriving in Bacolod to examine the body parts and verify their findings.An informant provided them with the initial information that led to the identity of the person, Baldovino said.Baldovino denied that there is a rift between two NBI Bacolod agents that could be related to body parts case....