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Rep.  Javier Miguel Benitez (right) and Rep. Alfredo Marañon III at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City on Friday*Office of Rep. Javi Benitez photo.Rep.  Javier Miguel “Javi”  Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said they will know on Monday,  when Congress resumes its sessions, whether the postponement of the Nov. 2 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections will still be pursued.“The house leaders have been asking the  sentiments of the members and a consensus may be formed on Monday,” Benitez said on Friday, July 31.Benitez said he heard the majority in Congress are in favor of holding it on November  2028.Cabinet Secretary  Benjamin Abalos, who was in Bacolod City Friday,  said “It is  Congress that will l have the final say on...

Infographics courtesy of Negros Occidental Tourism DivisionConcerned government agencies have warned residents of Negros Occidental to be alert against social media pages posing as official tourism establishments and tourism-related businesses to deceive guests booking for accommodations.On Friday, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) advised guests to be aware of red flags when making online reservations in hotels, resorts and similar accommodation establishments.“Sadly, scammers are getting smarter. Even fake Facebook pages are with thousands of followers and respond professionally. A common red flag is being asked to pay upfront to secure a booking,” DICT-Negros Occidental head Mary Jane Agonace told the Philippine News Agency.Agonace encour...

Stroke patient Rolli Gonzaga was rescued and temporarily relocated to the home of his younger sibling in Barangay 39.*BCCO photoMayor Greg Gasataya has ordered the immediate deployment of a multi-agency task force to assist seven families currently living under the Lupit  Bridge in Barangay 39, Bacolod City,  following heavy rains that damaged several of their  makeshift homes on Thursday evening, July 30.The task force, composed of personnel from the Department of Social Services and Development (DSSD), Bacolod Housing Authority (BHA), City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), City Health Office (CHO), and City Legal Office, conducted a joint onsite inspection together with barangay officials and rescue volunteers from Barangays 39 and Taculing....

A 38-year-old farmer died after he was repeatedly gored by a carabao in Hinigaran, Negros Occidental, on Thursday morning, July 30.Police identified the victim only as “Ronald,” a resident of Brgy. Quiwi.The Hinigaran Municipal Police Station said the incident happened at around 6 a.m. on an agricultural property in the barangay.According to the victim’s live-in partner, she heard someone screaming for help while she was fetching water.She found the victim lying on the ground with multiple wounds while the 7-year-old male carabao he used for farming was still attacking him.Nearby residents helped pacify and restrain the animal.The victim was rushed to the Hinigaran Medical Clinic but was declared dead by the attending physician.His body was brought to a funeral ...

Bacolod Mayor Greg Gasataya and DSSD head Richelle Verdeprado-Mangga at a press conference on Thursday.*Ronnie Baldonado photoThe online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) in Bacolod City is “very alarming” and a manhunt for a person tagged to be behind it is ongoing, Richelle Verdeprado-Mangga, head of the Department of Social Services and Development (DSSD), said on Thursday, July 30.A study by the International Justice Mission, a global human rights organization dedicated to protecting people in poverty from violence, slavery, and exploitation, revealed that Bacolod City is a hotspot for  online sexual abuse and exploitation of children, she said.The Bacolod DSSD and police have rescued 10 minors aged 12 to 17 from various barangays  in Bacolod...

EB Magalona Mayor Matthew Louis Malacon.*CPG photoE.B. Magalona Mayor Matthew Louis Malacon said he has issued three executive orders to address the economic crisis caused by the United States’ ban on blue swimming crabs from the Philippines and the  red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) attack on local sugarcane crops.About 40 percent of E.B. Magalona’s economy has been affected by the U.S. ban on blue crabs, with hundreds of jobs lost, Malacon said at a press conference on Thursday, July 30.Executive Order 32 created an RSSI Task Force to arrest the spread of the pests. The municipality has also established a nursery in Barangay Alicante to grow a new sugarcane variety that is much more resistant to RSSI, which will be distributed to small farmers, he said.Executive...