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The groundbreaking rites.* The groundbreaking for the construction of  the 303rd Infantry Brigade barracks at  Camp Alfredo Montelibano Sr. in Brgy. Estefania, Bacolod City, was held  Thursday, April 4. Police, Army and some government officials led the ground breaking for the renovation of the Negros Occidental Provincial Police Office (NOCPPO)  main gate and construction of the  303rd IB barracks.The groundbreaking was attended by Acting NOCPPO Director Col. Rainerio De Chavez, 303rd IB Commander Orlando Edralin, Francis Velez and Provincial Engineer Ernie Mapa. The project is being supported by the provincial government of Negros Occidental.* 

Free funeral services were provided for the slain alleged rebel.*62IB photo The alleged New People’s Army (NPA) rebel who was killed in an encounter in Brgy. Quintin Remo, Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, has been identified.He is Mario Catacio, alias Malot, of Sitio Angalan, Barangay Quintin Remo, the Army’s 62nd Infantry Battalion reported on Friday, April 5. Catacio was identified by his family, Lt. Col. Evelio Ilanga III, 62IB acting commanding officer, said. Catacio’s mother said that the victim had already surrendered in 2023 and was just alleged to still be an active member of the NPA. Army and Negros Occidental Police Mobile Force Company troopers encountered remnants of NPA’s Central Negros 1  in Sitio Angalan and Sitio Saksak in &nbs...

Joebert Magaporo, alias “Totot”, on his arrest.*BCPO photo The police arrested two persons and seized suspected shabu worth P680,000 in buy bust operations in two cities in   Negros Occidental on Thursday and Friday, April 4 and 5. Joebert Magaporo, alias “Totot”, 35, of Purok Sto. Niño, Brgy. Handumanan, Bacolod City, was arrested at about 1:35 a.m. on Friday, the police said. Seized from him were 80 grams of suspected shabu with an estimated street drug price of P544,000, the police said. Meanwhile, a 27-year-old man, whose name was withheld by the police, was also arrested in a buy-bust operation in Sitio Cubay, Brgy. Guinhalaran, Silay City, on  Thursday. Seized from the suspect were 20 grams of suspected shabu worth P136,000, the ...

The ongoing construction of the first four buildings of Asenso Yuhum Residences-Arao in Barangay Vista Alegre, Bacolod City.* The Bacolod City government has signed up an initial 800 beneficiaries as confirmed buyers of housing units at the Asenso Yuhum Residences-Arao, the first among its shelter projects being implemented under the Pambansang Pabahay Para Sa Pilipino (4PH) Program. Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Thursday, April 4, that  he presented project updates during a meeting with visiting officials of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) at Seda Hotel in Bacolod on Wednesday. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to showcase Bacolod’s progress on our Asenso Yuhum housing under the 4PH program to Undersecretary Samuel...

Negros Oriental provincial administrator Arthur Fran Tolcidas (right) presides over the meeting at the Capitol on Friday  on issues related to the El Niño.*contributed photo Negros Oriental Gov. Manuel Sagarbarria on Friday, April 5,  ordered the lifting of the suspension of classes at all levels in both public and private schools across the province, citing a better projection of lower heat indices in the coming days. The move came just two days after the governor declared the suspension of classes province-wide under Executive Order No. 24 due to the extreme heat index at the time which was bordering on the tipping point to be considered “danger” as classified by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). Sagarbar...

The image of Christ  that was destroyed at the San Isidro Labrador Church in Binalbagan on Wednesday.* The police are validating the claim that the man detained for the destruction of six religious images at the San Isidro Labrador Church in Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, had previously been charged for the murder of a child in Metro Manila.The suspect Rolly Semira, 39, of Barangay San Teodoro, Binalbagan, claimed he pried out the eyes of the child because he transformed into an animal.PLt. Glen Portunes, Binalbagan deputy police chief, said they are validating the claim of Semira because they are not certain that he is in his right mind.Portunes said Semira’s family also told the police that he was jailed in Muntinlupa for murder “but if he is 39 years old and m...

Pre-school, elementary up to senior high school face-to-face classes in Bacolod City will remain suspended on Friday, April 5, the Department of Education’s Bacolod City Schools Division announced.The PAGASA heat index forecast for Negros Occidental and Bacolod City is 41 degree Celsius on Friday.  However, 300 Grade 6 students from 105 schools are not included in the suspension. They are required to report to school to take the National Achievement Test, Lila Arro, DepEd Bacolod spokesperson, said Thursday. Face-to-to face classes in Silay City will also remain suspended except for those taking the NAT on Friday, Mayor Joedith Gallego said.* 

Mayor Raymund Tongson (center) green lights the annual implementation of the School Heads Advancement Program for Excellence (SHAPE).* Mayor Raymund Tongson has approved the annual implementation of the School Heads Advancement Program for Excellence (SHAPE) which will encourage more aspiring education leaders in the Schools Division of Himamaylan City to step up. Initiated by the schools division through Superintendent Gladys Amylaine Sales, Tongson gave the program the green light on Thursday, April 4, ahead of Himamaylan’s DepEd Day celebration in the afternoon that was part of the city’s Himaya Festival. “Locally-initiated programs such as SHAPE show how our teachers in the DepEd Schools Division of Himamaylan City are very eager to take on the mantle of lead...

A 50-year-old man  drowned in the Binalbagan River in Brgy. 1, Poblacion, Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, Wednesday  afternoon, April 3. The victim was drunk and took a bath in the river fronting his house, the police said. The victim’s neighbor noticed that he was lifeless and sought the help  of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the police. The victim was brought to the  Moises Padilla Health Infirmary where he was  declared dead.* 

A flockman died on Wednesday, April 3, after he was mauled by his alleged co-workers at a poultry farm in Purok Kalubihan, Brgy. Tabunan, Bago City, Negros Occidental, on Sunday, March 31. The 43-year-old flockman, whose name was withheld, was mauled by two men, the police reported on Thursday, April 4. A witness said that he heard a commotion outside his house and saw one of the suspects stepping on the victim’s head while he was sleeping and the other was punching him on different parts of his body.The victim was brought to a hospital and was released on Monday, April 1. However, the victim was brought back to the hospital on Tuesday for shortness of breath and died on Wednesday, the police said.*