BingoPlus, the country’s most comprehensive digital entertainment platform, sponsored the grand Miss Universe 2025 preliminary round held last Monday, April 29, 2025, at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Pasay City. Before the much-awaited culmination of the evening, sixty-six (66) candidates entered an intense preliminary interview that will have a significant impact on the results …
Monthly Archives: May 2025
No manual counting; Comelec to Bing’s plea: Polls remain fully automated
By JEN BAYLON Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin Garcia addressed the request of former Bacolod City mayor and congressional candidate Evelio “Bing” Leonardia to shift to manual counting of votes in the upcoming May 12 midterm elections. Garcia clarified that, despite the request, the law currently mandates fully automated elections. “Even if Comelec …
Celebrating a record year and steady growth into 2025
By Ignacio Bunye The Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) continues to set new benchmarks for success, recently presenting its stockholders with an impressive account of its strong performance throughout 2024 and a promising start to 2025. In the first quarter of 2025, BPI reported an outstanding net income of P16.6 billion — a nine …
Benham Rise: Ours, period
By Herman M. Lagon Now that the West Philippine Sea is finally getting the attention it deserves, perhaps it is time we shift our gaze eastward. Beyond Luzon, in waters quieter but just as consequential, lies the Philippine Rise, also known as Benham Rise. And while our collective energy has largely been consumed by the …
OCD, Comelec seal partnership for safe polls in Kanlaon-hit areas
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) have forged a partnership to ensure the safe conduct of the May 12 national and local elections in local government units (LGUs) affected by the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon in Negros Island. The collaboration was formalized in a memorandum of agreement signed between …
NegOcc invests P158-M for solar power system in gov’t buildings
The Negros Occidental provincial government has entered into a P158.28-million power purchase agreement with a renewable energy solutions firm for the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in six designated buildings. WeGen Energy Philippines Inc. will install a total capacity of 1,270.5 kilowatt peak (kWp) in these structures, based on the contract to sell signed …
Army, rebels clash in NegOr ahead of polls
Government troops of the 62nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army clashed with suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in three separate incidents in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental yesterday. Lt. Colonel Evelio Ilanga, commanding officer of the 62IB, told the Philippine News Agency that the initial clash occurred around 6:00 a.m. in Barangay …
Cadiz City to transform food court rooftop into farming haven
Cadiz City in Negros Occidental is converting the rooftop of the local government-run food court into a farming haven as part of its food security program. In a statement on Wednesday, April 30, Mayor Salvador Escalante, Jr. said the city’s unique farming initiative aims to serve as a model for sustainable agriculture and urban greening. …
P6.8-M ‘shabu’ seized in Negros Oriental buy-bust
Authorities seized nearly P7 million worth of suspected shabu and arrested two suspects in a buy-bust operation in Barangay Camanjac early yesterday morning. Lt. Stephen Polinar, spokesperson of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office, identified the suspects as “Gege,” 37 years old, and “Jeb-jeb,” 22 years old, both residents of Sitio Tuwang in Pamplona town. …
Comelec ensures voting access to displaced Kanlaon voters
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has assured displaced voters near Mt. Kanlaon in Negros Occidental that they would still be able to cast their votes in the upcoming May 12 midterm elections. Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said voters affected by the volcano’s eruption will not be disenfranchised. “We want to show them [evacuees] that they …