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A scene of the accident in Barangay Damgo, EB Magalona, Wednesday, August 10.*EB Magalona photoA 78-year-old man was killed after he was hit by a car at the highway in Barangay Damgo, EB Magalona, Negros Occidental, on Wednesday, August 10.Killed was  Aurelio Artus.The victim just crossed the street from his house, which was at the side of the road, when he was hit by the car, the police reported.The driver was speeding when he hit the curb, and wasn’t able to control the car, the police said.The driver was also hospitalized after sustaining injuries from the accident.*

Senator Imee Marcos has condemned the unauthorized and fraudulent use of the Office of the President to justify the importation of sugar - "ultimate proof that thick-faced agricultural smugglers are lording it over at the Department of Agriculture."The senator, in a press statement  Thursday, August 11, lauded her brother's timely rejection of the planned importation of 300,000 metric tons of sugar but also urged an "immediate reshuffle of the DA's top officials to dismantle criminal syndicates within the government.""Stop trying to fool my brother," the senator said.Local sugar producers told Senator Marcos's office that sugar prices have spiked to above P100 per kilo because imports were being cornered by leading manufacturers of sugared products, in cahoots with DA offi...

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. rejects the proposal of the Sugar Regulatory Administration.*OPS photoPresident Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has rejected the proposal of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to import an additional 300,000 metric tons of sugar, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles announced Wednesday, August 10.The SRA’s call for the importation of sugar was made as the retail price of a kilo of refined sugar breached the P100 mark amid a reported shortage in supply.“The President rejected the proposal to import an additional 300,000 MT of sugar. He is the chairman of the Sugar Regulatory Board and denied this in no uncertain terms,” the press secretary said.Sugar Order No. 4 Series of 2021-2022 dated Tuesday, August 9, set the second import program for crop year...

The scene of the shooting incident in Brgy. Marcelo, Calatrava, Negros Occidental, Sunday, August 7.*Calatrava PNP photoA man was gunned down by unidentified suspects at Sitio Kamao, Brgy. Marcelo, Calatrava, Negros Occidental, Sunday, August 7.Killed was resident Rodel “Peter” Nobleza, 37.The victim and  two teenagers were on board a motorcycle when they were flagged down by five unidentified armed men, a police report said.The suspects told the two teenagers, aged 16 and 17, to alight from the motorcycle and turn around, then shot the victim three times.The assailants then fled to the upper part of the sitio while the victim was brought to Calatrava District Hospital where he was declared dead.Police have yet to establish the motive for the killing.*

Charmaine Pahate, Bacolod Councilor Jason Villarosa, Benjamin Lopue II, Charlie Co, Councilor Em Ang, City Tourism Officer Tere Manalili and Manny Montelibano (l-r) at the opening of the rum festival*Ronnie Baldonado photoThe Tanduay Bacolod Rum Festival opened with an art exhibition and jazz concert featuring Bacolod’s leading artists at the Art District in Bacolod City Friday afternoon, August 12.This is the first face-to-face festival in Bacolod City since the two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Bacolod Councilor Em Ang said.Ang, who authored the city ordinance creating the rum festival, said it was first held in 2019 and its staging this year signals the reopening of tourism in Bacolod and Negros Occidental.It features rum made in Bacolod and highlights the...

Bacolod City Councilor Al Victor Espino proposes an ordinance granting tax relief.*Bacolod SP photoBacolod Councilor Al Victor Espino proposed the granting of amnesty for delinquent real property taxes during the Sangguniang Panlungsod session on Wednesday, August 10.The ordinance granting tax relief for delinquent real property taxes, hurdled first reading and was referred to the SP committee on laws, ordinances, and good government.Espino said the ordinance is up for a public hearing next week.The tax relief is one way of giving Bacolod residents a little respite, he said.“We’re still in the middle of the pandemic…we’re still in a state of national calamity,” he added.Espino said that his proposed ordinance  seeks to condone tax penalties and surcharges of de...

A 19-year-old was arrested after he allegedly stole a bike that was parked at a public market in Bago City on August 10.*Bago PNP photoA teenager was arrested  at the public market of Brgy. Poblacion in Bago City, Negros Occidental Wednesday, August 10, for allegedly stealing a bike.Nabbed was Dorwin Arevalo, 19, of Purok Balintawak, Brgy. Don Jorge Araneta, Bago City.Police said that the bike, which was borrowed by a minor from his cousin, was parked at the public market when it was stolen.The minor was having his haircut when he learned about the stolen bike, which was worth P15,000. He immediately called for help from his cousin to look for the suspect, whom they later caught with the bike.The suspect is now in the custody of the Bago police.*

Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Thursday, August 11, that a congressional inquiry on expired COVID-19 vaccines will be conducted, and he expects that it will include the AstraZeneca vaccines ordered by Bacolod City.“It’s not just Bacolod, there are several other LGUs as well as the national government that have expired vaccines involving billions of pesos”, Benitez said.He said AstraZeneca has not sent the Bacolod City government the balance of its bill for the 650,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines ordered by the Leonardia administration, many of which expired at the Department of Health central office.“I’m not in a hurry, I’m willing to forget if they are,” Benitez said. About 434,000 AstraZeneca doses ordered for Bacolod  by the Leonardia administration ...

Two suspects yielded P550,800 worth of drugs in a buy-bust operation at Brgy. Banago, Bacolod City Tuesday, August 9.*BCPO photoMore than P500,000 worth of drugs were seized and  two suspects, including a high-value target, were arrested in a police buy-bust operation at Purok Kawayan, Brgy. Banago, Bacolod City, 1:20 a.m. Tuesday, August 9.Nabbed were high-value individual Rodmar “Zan” Abada, 37, and Aunice “Denice” Latuna, 28.Recovered from their possession were the P1,000 marked money, 21 sachets of suspected shabu worth P550,800, a sling bag, and the P250 cash proceeds.The suspects are now detained at Police Station 3 and are facing drug charges.*