HEADLINE

By JEN BAYLON The Department of Health (DOH) is intensifying its preparations for an expected significant increase in dengue cases this year. “We are due for another surge this year. We already saw cases rising as early as January. In fact, we forecast this last year,” DOH Undersecretary Dr. Mary Ann Maestral said. She said dengue cases …

By JEN BAYLON The Bacolod City Drug Enforcement Unit (CDEU) is still investigating information regarding the involvement of some barangay officials in illegal drug operations in the city. In a radio interview yesterday, CDEU chief Lt. Colonel Antonio Benitez, Jr. said some of their data dates back to 2016, which is why it is necessary to investigate whether some …

By JEN BAYLON Violators involved in the proliferation of illegal campaign materials will either face election offenses or disqualification charges, the Commission on Elections in the Negros Island Region (Comelec-NIR) said. Comelec-NIR Regional Director Lionel Marco Castillano said yesterday they are set to document instances of campaign materials improperly displayed in violation of election regulations. Castillano said violation …

The Regional Trial Court Branch 64 dismissed the murder charges filed against five officials in Negros Occidental’s Moises Padilla town after four years of litigation. Acting Presiding Judge Ma. Anna Priscila Pareja, in an order dated Friday, February 28, granted the motion to dismiss the case against Moises Padilla Councilor Vincent Bryan Garcia, Barangay Captain Felisa …

By JEN BAYLON The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) needs P1 billion in funds to put up permanent evacuation facilities for residents affected by the Kanlaon Volcano eruption. OCD Regional Director and Task Force Kanlaon head Raul Fernandez said the final decision regarding the funding and implementation of evacuation sites will rest with the national task …

By JEN BAYLON Negros Occidental is grappling with a significant rise in the number of dengue cases, the Provincial Health Office (PHO) said. PHO’s Morbidity Week No. 8 data showed that from January 1 to February 22, the province recorded a total of 1,012 dengue cases, a dramatic leap of 421.65 percent from the 194 …

By JEN BAYLON Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez confirmed that the Negros Island Region (NIR) is now fully activated following the publication of its implementing rules and regulations (IRR). During a meeting attended by 36 government agency heads, it was revealed that 90 percent of the required regional offices are now operational. Benitez said …

By JEN BAYLON The Negros Occidental provincial government called for a national intervention following a Supreme Court (SC) ruling that allows commercial fishing vessels access to municipal waters. “We would like to make sure that our position will also be heard by the SC,” Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said in an interview yesterday. “But I …

By JEN BAYLON Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said funding immediate response efforts in managing the situation at Kanlaon Volcano emerged as a critical concern. “We talked about the short- and long-term solutions, and the short-term was basically funding,” Lacson said yesterday. He noted that local chief executives in the province indicated that their eruption …

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) national office will decide if charges will be filed against erring candidates after 806 illegal campaign materials were taken down during the poll body’s Oplan Baklas operations in Bacolod City over the weekend. Comelec-Bacolod election officer Revo Sorbito said they had sent violation reports to representatives of senatorial and party-list candidates in …