News

By CESAR JOLITO III The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will implement a four-day workweek beginning April, closing all its offices every Monday as part of the national government’s energy conservation efforts. According to Lionel Marco Castillano, regional election director for the Negros Island Region (NIR), the adjusted schedule follows a recent en banc resolution issued …

By CESAR JOLITO III A 24-year-old man identified only as “Alias Boss” was arrested in a buy-bust operation conducted by police operatives at Purok Paraiso in Bacolod City’s Barangay Banago on Wednesday, March 25. Operatives from the City Drug Enforcement Unit of the Bacolod City Police Office carried out the operation at 12:33 p.m., leading …

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) recorded a 100 percent payout of the Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) assistance to Typhoon “Tino”-hit households in three local government units (LGUs) in Negros Occidental. These include the municipalities of Hinigaran, La Castellana and Isabela, which were among the worst-hit by the devastation brought by heavy rains …

By CESAR JOLITO III Authorities have identified several persons of interest in a shooting incident at Purok Kabuhi in Bacolod City’s Barangay 10 late Wednesday night, March 25, following an intensive investigation and review of surveillance footage. The incident took place at 10:55 p.m., prompting police to immediately conduct information gathering and hot pursuit operations. …

The Department of Education (DepEd) Dumaguete City Schools Division is gearing up for the implementation of the trimester system for the academic year 2026-2027, an official said. Dr. Juditha Mapue, DepEd city division assistant superintendent, told the Philippine News Agency in an interview that the trimester system means dividing the school days from the previous …

A weather bureau specialist disclosed the 55 percent probability of an El Niño to develop in the next six months due to below-normal rainfall. El Niño is characterized by warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the Central and Eastern Equatorial Pacific. Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) weather specialist Joseph Basconcillo said there is …

By CESAR JOLITO III Bacolod City Lone District Representative Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has backed President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s declaration of a state of national emergency, describing it as a timely and necessary response to the crisis confronting the country. Benitez said the move allows for a “whole-of-government approach,” enabling agencies to act in unison to …

By CESAR JOLITO III A 30-year-old woman reportedly died from stab wounds inflicted during an alleged domestic confrontation with her 39-year-old live-in partner in their home in Bacolod City’s Barangay Tangub on Sunday, March 22. Police Station 8 Captain Sherwin Galupar said the suspect, a member of a local band, allegedly stabbed the victim in …

Kanlaon Volcano released ash plumes anew from its summit crater yesterday afternoon that rose 600 meters in the air, state volcanologists said. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) released time-lapse footages of the ash emission that began at 5:54 p.m. and is still ongoing as of this writing. “This event generated grayish plumes …

Some 677 police personnel in Negros Oriental have been randomly chosen for drug testing, an official said. Captain Stephen Polinar, spokesperson of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NORPPO), said at a press conference at Camp Fernandez in Sibulan town that this was the second batch of police personnel to undergo random drug testing. The …