By CESAR JOLITO III Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson ruled out the total scrapping of the One Hospital Command (OHC) System, saying the provincial government is instead focused on improving and strengthening its implementation amid mounting complaints from patients and local chief executives. Lacson acknowledged the concerns raised over the hospital referral system but …
Monthly Archives: January 2026
Da Vinci, a dentist and the elegance of the universe
By Dr. Joseph D. Lim More likely than not, you’ve seen it before: Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man. Drawn circa 1490, it shows arms outstretched, in a symmetry inside a circle and a square. Vitruvius was a Roman engineer who believed the human body is a well-designed, harmonious physique in perfect proportions, a template in …
Teachers’ boundaries in 2026Teachers’ boundaries in 2026
By Herman M. Lagon Teaching did not suddenly become difficult in 2026. It has been quietly heavy for years, but this year feels different because the weight is finally being named. The posts circulating on social media about what teachers must avoid struck a nerve, not because they were radical, but because they sounded familiar. …
Rediscover God through faith and love
By Fr. Roy Cimagala That rather amusing gospel episode about those who were so amazed at the preaching of Christ in the synagogue that they could not believe that someone just like them, coming from the same place and whose family they knew, could preach the way Christ did (cfr. Mark 6:1-6), tells us that …
500 ‘Tino’-hit families in La Castellana still homeless; relocation sites readied
By CESAR JOLITO III Nearly 500 residents displaced by Typhoon “Tino” continue to stay in evacuation centers in Negros Occidental’s La Castellana town, almost two months after the storm devastated the municipality, local disaster officials said. John de Asis, head of the La Castellana Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said the figure is …
Over P437-K firecrackers, pyrotechnics destroyed
By CESAR JOLITO III The Police Regional Office in the Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR) carried out simultaneous destruction of thousands of confiscated firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices, capping its intensified holiday enforcement campaign aimed at protecting the public from firework-related hazards. A total of 23,111 firecrackers, with an estimated value of P437,778, were destroyed during the …
Police step up anti-loose firearms campaign after 2 shootings
Negros Oriental Police personnel are stepping up their campaign against loose firearms following two shooting incidents at the start of the year, an official said yesterday. Captain Stephen Polinar, spokesperson of the Negros Oriental Police, said in a media interview that investigators are digging deeper into the motive behind the shootings. The shooting incidents were …
NPA claims laborer’s ‘death penalty’
By CESAR JOLITO III The New People’s Army (NPA) has claimed responsibility for the fatal shooting of a 44-year-old laborer at Barangay Manghanoy in Negros Occidental’s La Castellana town, an incident earlier reported by police as a shooting carried out by unidentified gunmen. In a statement yesterday, the Leonardo Panaligan Command of the NPA’s Central …
NegOr carnapping incidents down by 35% in 2025
The Provincial Highway Patrol Team (PHPT) in Negros Oriental reported a 35-percent reduction in carnapping in 2025 following relentless operations. PHPT-Negros Oriental chief, Police Executive Master Sergeant Aurelio Bodo, said on Tuesday, January 6, that 42 incidents of carnapping of motorcycles and four-wheeled vehicles were recorded in 2025, compared to 65 in 2024. “These accomplishments …
Bacolod fire incidents down by 31.5% in 2025
Fire incidents in the highly urbanized Bacolod City decreased by 31.5 percent, from 295 in 2024 to only 202 in the past year, data from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) – Bacolod City Fire Station showed yesterday. Fire Officer 2 Paul Servano, public information officer of BFP-Bacolod, said the fewer fire incidents are mainly …