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About 175 individuals who have deceased family members who were former social pensioners received cash assistance worth P5,600 each under the Unconditional Cash Transfer program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in E.B. Magalona, on Wednesday, July 26.The 175 recipients were given cash cards in a ceremonial turnover at the municipal gym, a press release from E.B. Magalona said.The UCT Program is a government subsidy that provides cash assistance to eligible low-income households designed to help meet the basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing.The assistance was distributed by officials and staff of the Land Bank of the Philippines, DSWD-Social Pension Program, E.B. Magalona Federation of Senior Citizens Association, and Municipal Social Welfare and Develop...

A senior citizen couple died when their motorcycle was hit by a Sports Utility Vehicle along the highway in Valladolid town, Negros Occidental, Thursday morning, July 27.The victims were identified as Alfredo Barte, 73, and his wife Felicidad, 62, from Brgy. Canonoy, Hinigaran town.Both vehicles were traveling from north to south when the motorcycle turned eastward and the SUV accidentally hit it, Capt. Bonifacio Galves, Valladolid deputy police chief, said.The driver of the SUV vehicle was identified to be a businessman and a pastor whose name was withheld by the police.The families of the suspect and victims are still discussing a possible settlement, the police said.*

A man was shot dead in Brgy. Orong, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, Wednesday night, July 26.Raul Deguitos Sr., 56, was allegedly shot by Julito Meot, 50, in Purok 5, Brgy. Orong, Kabankalan City, after a heated argument, the police reported on Thursday.Initial investigation found that the victim, who was drunk, went to the house of the suspect’s son carrying a bolo causing alarm and scandal.A heated argument between the suspect and victim occurred resulting in Meot allegedly shooting Deguitos on his head resulting in his death.The suspect fled in an unknown direction after the incident but voluntarily surrendered to the police Thursday morning, July 27.Capt. Thurslie Castillo, Kabankalan deputy police chief, said the family of the victim will file homicide charges ...

Jolly Beating was found in Cebu waters Thursday morning.*Jocelyn Beating FB page photoA Negrense boatman whose pumpboat sunk 2 kilometers off Lakawon Island in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, on Tuesday evening floated at sea amid stormy weather for a day and a half and was found alive in Cebu waters on Thursday, July 27.Jolly “Pating” Villarosa Beating, 35, a Lakawon boatman, was found alive in the waters near a small island that is part of Madridejos, Cebu, between Bantayan and Masbate, Nic Ledesma, a relative of his employer, said.Ledesma said before Beating’s boat sunk he was able to call his sister on his cellular phone and she advised him to put on his life vest.Since it was dark and the seas were rough, there was no way he could be rescued until the morning, Ledesma s...

Acting SRA administrator Pablo Azcona (right) and Sugar Board Member Dave Sanson representing the planters at a press conference Thursday.*The Sugar Regulatory Administration is sticking to its decision to start the milling season on September 1 to ensure higher sugar yield and revenues for the farmers, SRA Acting Administrator Pablo Azcona said Thursday, July 27.“I’m pleading to the mills to respect the September 1 date”, sanctions will be imposed on those that defy the SRA advisory, it will not be tolerated, Azcona said at a press conference at the SRA office in Bacolod.He pointed out that only one sugar mill has requested to start milling in August.“Delaying the mill reopening to September 1 was based on 2 premises - higher yield in terms of KG/TC and correspondingly, i...

A house destroyed in Sagay City.*Sagay PIO photoFlooding brought on by Typhoon “Egay” affected 51, 136 residents in 17 local government units in Negros Occidental, and 668 houses were damaged and destroyed as of 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 26, the Provincial Disaster Management Program Division (PDMPD) reported.“Egay” slightly weakened as it accelerated northwestward over the waters of Luzon Strait late Wednesday and is expected to exit the Philippines on Thursday, state weather bureau PAGASA said.Three persons drowned in Bacolod City, Hinigaran and Murcia on Tuesday and Wednesday amid foul weather, while a fisherman was reported missing in the waters off Lakawon Island in Cadiz City.The body of construction worker Victor Mahilum Moreno Jr., 32, of Barangay Mansilingan was foun...

The Bacolod police helping evacuate residents at the height of the flooding.*BCPO photoPlacing two Bacolod barangays affected by flooding brought on by Typhoon “Egay” under a state of calamity is being studied, Dr. Anna Maria Laarni Pornan, City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office head, said Wednesday, July 26.Barangays 39 and Singcang Airport were among the worst hit by the flooding, she said.If 15 percent of the total population of a barangay was affected, a state of calamity can be declared, so they are still validating the numbers, she said.There were 1,351 families with 4,638 members affected by the flooding in 18 Bacolod barangays, the DRRMO reported at 6 p.m. Wednesday.There were also 28 damaged and destroyed houses reported in three barangays that were sti...

Taxing sugar will affect the masses, Zubiri says.*Nic Ledesma photoSenate President Juan Miguel Zubiri assured on Wednesday, July 26, that he will not agree to any additional tax on sugar.“We should stop taxing our people whether it’s for sugar or for salt because the masses will be the ones affected by it,” he said.Under his watch any push for additional tax on sugar will face difficulty in the Senate and will never happen, he said.On fears of a possible drop in millgate prices of sugar with additional imports, Zubiri said with Paul Azcona as acting administrator of the Sugar Regulatory Administration, he will make sure that importation is done only when it is ultimately needed.Zubiri also pointed out that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said government will no longer t...

Zubiri said he will also support the move to create a second Bacolod congressional district.*Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said on Wednesday, July 26, that hopefully there will be a law creating the Negros Island Region (NIR) before the end of the year.Zubiri said he expects the Senate to approve the bill seeking the creation of the NIR, composed of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor, before the end of September or before their October break.He will speak to Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito, who chairs the Senate Committee on Local Government, about preparing the committee report on the NIR for submission to the plenary, Zubiri said.Zubiri said he does not expect any opposition to the NIR in the Senate.The House of Representatives version of the bill ha...