TOP STORIES

By Paulo Loreto Lim According to Iloilo City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) head Donna Magno, the Iloilo City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (CDRRMC) is set to hold discussions on problems facing the city, which the CDRRMO chief identified as flooding and drought. She said flooding is a “short term problem,” while drought …

By Paulo Loreto Lim Negros Occidental third district Rep. Alfredo Benitez spoke at the Silay City Plaza over the weekend to address 1,600 beneficiaries of the Tulong-Dunong Program, an education assistance program enacted during his first term in Congress in 2010. The program, conducted in coordination with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), offers financial …

By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga Task Force Kasanag (TFK) founder and national commander John Chiong recently reiterated his call for the public to report erring task force members, especially cases involving the brandishing of firearms. “We do not tolerate such a blatant show of power,” he said. “[It] is a violation of our organization’s code …

By Ma. Irish Joy M. Sabio, Intern A barker was stabbed at Purok Lubi-Phase 3, Barangay Handumanan, Bacolod City early Sunday morning. Police identified the wounded individual as 36-year-old Celmo Makilan, while the suspect was found to be 32-year-old Jonard Pagalilawan; both are residents of the said purok. According to a report by Police Station …

By Ma. Irish Joy M. Sabio, Intern A mother and son were robbed by unidentified riding-in-tandem suspects at their residence at Block 27, Lot 114, NHA-Phase 4, Barangay Pahanocoy, Bacolod City, Saturday. Police identified the mother as 50-year-old Arlene Espera, but did not name her son. Investigators from Police Station 8 (PS8) said Espera’s son …

Department of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol recently expressed his opposition to the proposed Greyhorse Energy, Inc. oil depot in Dumangas, Iloilo, which has also received disapproval from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-Region VI (BFAR-6). “We are mandated to conserve marine wealth, while protecting the rights of fishermen,” he said. According to BFAR-6 Director …

By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) acting director, Police Senior Superintendent Jack Wanky, said his office recently identified the eight drug lords reportedly operating throughout Bacolod City and is currently monitoring their whereabouts. In a radio interview over the weekend, Wanky believes the drug lords, said to be linked with the …

By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga Following President Rodrigo Duterte naming the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) as a “corrupt” government agency, former Negros Occidental Governor Rafael Coscolluela said its proposed abolition would create uncertainty. “We won’t know what kind of policy environment we will have to deal with,” he said during an exclusive interview with Watchmen …

By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga Former Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) officer Ruel Villacanas was arrested over the weekend in relation to a 2003 kidnapping and murder case of a barangay captain and two maritime instructors. The former police officer had been one of seven named in the August 31, 2003 kidnap and murder of …

During a recent agricultural machinery expo, Department of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol blamed Western Visayas rice dealers for the low buying price of rice. “This is exploitation [and] I denounce it,” he stated. “This is oppression.” In reference to the buying price of rice throughout the Western Visayas region, which ranges between P8 and P12 …