By CESAR JOLITO III The shortage of classrooms continues to be one of the biggest challenges the Department of Education in the Negros Island Region (DepEd-NIR) faces, with more than 2,000 learning facilities still needed as classes begin in less than a week. DepEd-NIR said the deficit in facilities includes classrooms that were damaged or …
Monthly Archives: June 2026
Road closure for SEABA qualifiers June 2 to 6
By MERLINDA A. PEDROSA The Bacolod Traffic and Transport Management Department (BTTMD) will implement a temporary road closure along Hilado Street (L.N. Agustin Drive to Lopez Jaena Street) starting today until Saturday, June 6, for the city’s hosting of the 2026 FIBA U18 Women’s Asia Cup SEABA qualifiers. In BTTMD’s advisory, the temporary road closure …
A new dawn for Marawi City
By Sonny Angara This October 23 marks the ninth year since Marawi City was freed from the lawless elements who sought to turn the locality into a wilayat or an “administrative division” of the ISIS caliphate. On that day, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana declared the city’s liberation marking the end of armed hostilities and violence …
The duty to transform the world
By Fr. Roy Cimagala That gospel parable about the sower and the seed (cfr. Matthew 13:1-9) somehow reminds us that we have to be the good ground that would readily receive the seed of God and make it grow to its fullness. Only then can we aspire to transform the world the way God wants …
Hypertension is the silent threat fueling heart disease among Filipinos
Ischemic heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the Philippines, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. But behind many of these fatal heart conditions lies a far more common and often overlooked health problem — hypertension or high blood pressure. Often called a “silent killer,” hypertension develops gradually and usually without …
NPA opposes claims of ‘defeat’ in Negros
By CESAR JOLITO III A spokesperson of the Apolinario Gatmaitan Command of the New People’s Army (NPA) has rejected recent statements from the government’s counterinsurgency body claiming that communist insurgent forces in Negros have been “totally defeated,” insisting instead that the armed movement remains active and rooted in local social conditions. In a statement, Ka …
PRO-NIR honors top cops in operations
By CESAR JOLITO III The Police Regional Office in the Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR) recognized police personnel who led successful operations against illicit cigarette smuggling and illegal drugs at Camp Alfredo M. Montelibano Sr. in Bacolod City’s Barangay Estefania yesterday. The ceremony was presided over by PRO-NIR Director Brigadier General Romano Cardiño and attended by …
Soldier wounded in Escalante encounter
By CESAR JOLITO III A soldier from the 79th Infantry Battalion (IB) was wounded during a brief encounter with suspected remnants of the Northern Negros Front at Barangay Tamlang in Negros Occidental’s Escalante City yesterday afternoon. According to 1st Lt. Fevie Fajardo, 79IB civil-military operations officer, government troops were conducting a combat operation in the …
Free school supplies for Bacolod learners
By MERLINDA A. PEDROSA The Bacolod City government will distribute free school supplies to all public elementary students as well as school bags and physical education (PE) uniforms for Grade 7 to Grade 12 students in the locality during the opening of classes next week. Mayor Greg Gasataya said they are now finalizing with the …
Rider dies, 3 hurt in multiple crashes
By MERLINDA A. PEDROSA A motorcycle driver died while three others were injured in a multiple vehicular accident along Araneta Street in Bacolod City’s Barangay Sum-ag on Sunday, May 31. The fatality was identified as Joshua Gil Suarez, a resident of Barangay Tabun-ac in Negros Occidental’s Toboso town. Injured were 69-year-old Alfredo Chua, Jr. and …