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The  Western Visayas Regional Athletic Association (WVRAA) meet game schedules in  Bacolod City, especially for  those held outdoors, will be moved to early morning and late afternoon  of May 2 to 7  to protect the athletes  from  dangerous heat levels . Department of Education-Negros Occidental Division Spokesperson Ian Arnold Arnaez said that outdoor games will be held from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. while schedules of games held indoor will remain. “There are no problems reported from those games held indoors as some have air conditioning and ventilation,” he said. The WVRAA organizing committee has also sought help from Bureau of Fire and Protection to augment water supply at billeting schools in Bacolod City.&nbs...

Antipolo NHS Pontevedra FB photoMonitor the compliance of students.That was the reminder of the Department of Education-Negros Occidental Division on Monday, April 29, to parents and guardians of students who have returned to asynchronous or distance learning due to the extreme heat.DepEd-Neg. Occ. Spokesperson Ian Arnold Arnaez said  that they are now implementing alternative modes of learning as extreme heat continues to hit the province. He said that there is a series of compliances that the students need to fulfill like answering the quizzes and submission of assignments to ensure that they still get to learn despite not going to the school. Negros Occidental’s heat index has ranged from 42 to 43 degrees Celsius lately, which is considered dangerous.&...

Consolidated transport groups in Bacolod City  assured the city government that all their units registered with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) through provisional authorities would be deployed in case non-consolidated groups hold a strike after the  deadline on  Tuesday, April 30. The city government will also dispatch all available vehicles to assist commuters. These are among the contingency plans agreed upon during the city government’s meeting with transport operators on Monday, City Administrator Lucille Gelvolea said in a press conference. “They assured us they would help the city government. On the part of the city government, we have already instructed all (city-owned) units to be on standby. We are coordin...

Sen. Grace Poe   sponsored the  bill  seeking the grant of a legislative franchise to NEPC during the Senate plenary session on Monday.Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez on Monday, April 29, appealed to the Senate to hasten the granting of a franchise to the Negros Electric Power Corporation (NEPC) so it can take over the power distribution services of Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO) and address the recurring problem of multiple brownouts in Bacolod City.The mayor issued the appeal after extreme heat caused multiple brownouts in Bacolod City on Sunday.Sen. Grace Poe also sponsored three local bills seeking the grant of legislative franchises to power distribution utilities in the provinces of Negros Occidental, Leyte and Romblon during the Senate pl...

Expect price rollbacks for gasoline, diesel, and kerosene on Tuesday, April 30.Diesel prices are expected to decrease by P0.30 to P0.40 per liter, and gasoline’s by P0.10 to P0.20 per liter, Unioil announced on Saturday.The Department of Energy also said the per liter rollback for gasoline could be P0.20 to P0.45, diesel - P0.40 to P0.60 and kerosene - P0.70 to P0.90.*

The Department of Education said on Sunday, April 28, that because of the latest heat index forecast and the announcement of a nationwide transport strike, all public schools nationwide will implement asynchronous classes or distance learning on Monday and Tuesday, April 29 and 30.However, public transport in Bacolod City is not expected to be paralyzed as two major transportation groups and modern jeepneys are not joining any strike.Members of the Federation of Bacolod City Drivers Associations and Sentrong Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Negros will continue plying the streets, Eduardo “Junjun” Asis, SSTONE secretary general, said on Sunday.The DepEd advisory said teaching and non-teaching personnel in all public schools shall not be required to report to their respective ...

Numerous brownouts that hit Bacolod City on Sunday, April 28, were triggered by the extreme heat, Arnel Lapore, Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) general manager, said. The forecasted heat index in Negros Occidental on Sunday was 43 degrees Celsius. There were about 10 brownouts that hit different areas in the Ceneco coverage area, Lapore said. The extreme heat is melting down our insulators and wires, he said. Ceneco’s   transformers are also overloaded because there is a huge increase in demand for power, he said. The extreme temperature is causing transformers to burn, he said. Ceneco's coverage area includes the cities of Bacolod, Bago, Silay, and Talisay, and the towns of Don Salvador Benedicto and Murcia.*

Gov. Eugenio Joise Lacson at the launching of the SecuRENegros campaign.*A Negros Occidental Provincial Stakeholders' Consultative Power Summit will be held at the  Santuario de La Salle, Bacolod City, on Friday, May 3. The Power Summit will bring together  stakeholders in the power industry from the generation, transmission, distribution, and utilization sectors for their contributions towards the crafting of a Negros Occidental Energy Development Road Map for the  province's sustainable energy future, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said. The governor said on the  recommendation of the Negros Occidental Power Sector Assessment Study (NOPSAS), the provincial government launched the #SecuRENegros campaign on  February 5. The campaign focuses...

The house where PSSgt. Lernie Luntayao Alacha (insert photo) was killed  in Purok Eba, Brgy Andres Bonifacio, Sagay City.*A  jealous policeman  was  shot to death allegedly  by his   7-year-old  son  while he was  fighting  with his live-in partner  at their house in Purok Eba, Brgy Andres Bonifacio, Sagay City, Negros Occidental, 2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 28. Killed was PSSgt. Lernie Luntayao Alacha, 44. He was allegedly shot by his 7-year-old son with his Glock 17 9mm service firearm while in a fight with his live-in partner in their bedroom. The incident was also witnessed by the couple’s 12-year-old adopted son. A police report said the cop was having lunch with the two boys and his live...

A landowner was injured after she was shot at by  about eight suspects in Brgy. Dolis, Calatrava, Negros Occidental, on Saturday, April 27. Injured was  a 57-year-old woman whose name was withheld by the police. The suspects are her two brothers-in-law, aged 62 and 56 years old , and six other individuals, the police reported. The victim’s husband said that they were paying the  salaries of their laborers when they saw one of  the suspects shoot at his wife multiple times. The suspects continued to fire at their  residence but the husband managed the bring his wife to the San Carlos City Hospital. The victim sustained gunshot wounds in her abdomen, the police said. The Toboso Police responded  and conducted...