HEADLINE

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 …

By CESAR JOLITO III The National Democratic Front (NDF) – Negros has disputed recent claims by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) that the New People’s Army (NPA) in Negros has already been defeated, saying such statements fail to reflect the current …

By CESAR JOLITO III The National Democratic Front (NDF) in Negros has rejected renewed proposals for localized peace talks, saying that negotiations should instead be conducted at the national level to address what it described as long-standing systemic issues behind the armed conflict. In a statement released on May 26, NDF-Negros spokesperson Ka Bayani Obrero …

By CESAR JOLITO III Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Atty. Rayfrando Diaz II has renewed calls for collective action on water security, warning that local government units across the province could face serious water stress by 2030 if long-term solutions are not implemented immediately. In a statement, Diaz cited repeated warnings from the Department of Environment …

By CESAR JOLITO III Several fisherfolk organizations in the Visayas have intensified their campaign against illegal fishing, warning that the continued degradation of marine resources is worsening poverty among small-scale fishers and threatening coastal ecosystems. The Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) – Negros and the Panay-Negros-Guimaras Crab Fishers Alliance (PANEG-CA) launched a series of advocacy …

By CESAR JOLITO III The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has claimed that the Negros Island Region has become the “epicenter” of alleged summary executions and so-called “spy-tagging” killings perpetrated by the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army – National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF). In a statement, NTF-ELCAC …

By CESAR JOLITO III The General Alliance of Workers Association (GAWA) has slammed a recent “workers’ happiness” survey released by an online job research company, calling it “preposterous” and disconnected from the realities faced by delivery riders and drivers across the country. In a press statement issued yesterday, GAWA Secretary General Wennie Sancho criticized the …

By CESAR JOLITO III Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. said the government will no longer pursue peace negotiations with the New People’s Army (NPA), as he reaffirmed the state’s intensified campaign against armed insurgents following recent clashes in Negros Occidental. Teodoro personally visited the province on Saturday, May 23, amid continuing military operations against communist …

By CESAR JOLITO III Investigators recovered spent cartridge cases from several areas identified as encounter sites following a military operation in Negros Occidental’s Toboso town in April, supporting the claims that gun battles took place in multiple locations. “It’s not just one site. There are also other sites where cartridge cases are collected. They are …

By CESAR JOLITO III Families of three individuals killed in an armed encounter in Negros Occidental’s Toboso town in April have formally appealed for the exhumation of their relatives’ remains as the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) continues its independent investigation into the incident. CHR spokesperson Commissioner Beda Epres confirmed yesterday that the families of …