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Sherly Rose Maquiling Abalajen*Another Bacoleña is also among the Top 10 in the July 2023 Interior Design Licensure Examination.Sherly Rose Maquiling Abalajen, a graduate of the University of San Agustin in Iloilo, was the 5th placer with a rating of 84.95 percent.She is a friend of 4th placer Lois Baldonado Bernardino of La Consolacion College-Bacolod.Abalajen , 25, studied architecture at LCC Bacolod for a few years before she shifted to Interior design. She then transferred to the University of San Agustin Iloilo and finished the remaining two years of her studies there.She has three sisters and is the youngest child of Antonio and Hylin Abalajen of Villa Angela Subdivision in Bacolod City.“Even as a student she would make small handmade home decor items like coa...

The opening of the 37th Philippine Chemistry Congress at the SMX Convention Center in Bacolod City Wednesday morning, July 26.*Richard Malihan photoA Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) official vowed to check on the alleged murky water supply of the Bacolod City Water District.DENR Undersecretary for Integrated Science Carlos Primo David said that he will visit the water district to check on its supply, at a press conference during the 37th Philippine Chemistry Congress at the SMX Convention Center in Bacolod City, on Wednesday, July 26.There have been reports circulating on social media that some Bacolod residents have been complaining about the murky water supply described to be like the color coffee.David, who is also the head of the DENR Water Resour...

Negros Occidental has been named a pilot area for the Province-led Agriculture and Fisheries Extension System (PAFES) of the Department of Agriculture.Officials of the DA Agricultural Training Institute turned over a P1.2 million check to Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson for the training of Negrense farmers and fisherfolk at the Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City on Wednesday, July 26.Vianney Ojerio, ATI Partnerships and Accreditation Section chief, said PAFES aims to bring extension services to the grassroots level.“We are providing financial assistance that will be used in implementing the proposed plans of the province regarding agriculture and fisheries,” he said, adding that Neg. Occ. chose rice and livestock as priority commodities of the program.The program is also created i...

The 90-year-old Talave bridge that connects San Carlos City and Calatrava.*Andoni Llantada Valencia photoMayor Renato Gustilo is proposing that the 90-year-old Talave bridge be disassembled and relocated to the Park Marina in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, if the Department of Public Works and Highways insists on the construction of a new bridge in its place, Joe Recalex Alingasa Jr. said on Wednesday, July 26.The Talave Bridge built in 1933 by the United States Steel Products Company connects San Carlos City and Calatrava.Alingasa, who represents the San Carlos City Heritage Conservation and Historical Society, said his group and the San Carlos City Heritage Culture and the Arts Council headed by Dr. Archilles Ponferrada, support the recommendation of the mayor to preserv...

The recovered M65 vintage bomb*Ferrer Angelo Albances photoA 1,000-pound vintage bomb was found in a quarry site at Purok Lambunao, Brgy. Magsaysay, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, on Monday, July 24.The police said Rolly Pelongco found the M65 bomb while digging at the quarry site using a backhoe.Lt. Col. Gil John Despi, Cadiz City police chief, told DIGICAST NEGROS that the Explosive and Ordnance Disposal and Bomb Detection group identified it as a general-purpose bomb weighing about 1,000 pounds.The bomb was probably planted in the area during World War 2, the police said.The bomb has been secured in a safe place so it does not harm anyone, Despi saidd.Despi also said that they still need budgetary requirements in order to detonate the bomb.*

Daily pig deaths from various diseases in Negros Occidental continue to remain low with 24 reported on Tuesday and 31 on Wednesday, July 25 and 26, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.The total pig deaths in Negros Occidental from hog cholera, African swine fever and other diseases hit 17,654 on Wednesday, the Provincial Animal Biosecurity Incident Management Team reported.This has caused P197,987,475 in losses to the Negros Occidental hog industry, it said.The pigs deaths have hit 153 barangays in 20 local government units in Negros Occidental, it said.Affected pig raisers are 4,202.*

The body recovered in Hinigaran on Wednesday.*PCG photoThree persons drowned in Negros Occidental amid heavy rains induced by Super Typhoon Egay.Their bodies were found in Bacolod City, and Hinigaran and Murcia towns on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 25 and 26.The body of construction worker Victor Mahilum Moreno Jr., 32, of Barangay Mansilingan was found at the shore of Purok Sigay, Barangay Singcang-Airport, Bacolod City, at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.The victim was fishing in the Mansilingan river, when he tried to swim across and was suddenly dragged by strong current, the police said.The body of Arnold Billojan, 48, was found floating off Brgy. 2, Quincihan in Hinigaran by a fisherman at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, January 26.Billojan, whose house is located near a river of Baran...

A Bacolod City firefighter rescues a child in Barangay Sum-ag, Bacolod City.*BFP photoSuper Typhoon “Egay” induced rains have affected 27,357 residents in Negros Occidental, while in Bacolod City 3,378 residents, many of whom were rescued from flood-hit areas, were evacuated on Tuesday, July 25.The Southwest Monsoon enhanced by “Egay” was causing the rains, state weather bureau PAGASA said.“Violent conditions are starting over the eastern portion of Babuyan Islands as Egay moves over the coastal waters of Calayan, Cagayan,” PAGASA also reported at 11 p.m. Tuesday.There were 6,826 families or 27,357 residents from six towns and three cities affected by flooding, landslides and preemptive evacuation in Negros Occidental, Irene Bel Ploteña, Provincial Disaster Management Progr...