TOP STORIES

By JEN BAYLON The aroma of grilled chicken filled the air as Bacolod City officially opened its much-anticipated Chicken Inasal Festival yesterday, May 21, 2025, at the temporary Manokan Country stalls. The ceremonial grilling marked the start of a five-day celebration dedicated to the city’s iconic chicken inasal, running until Sunday, May 25. With a …

The Philippine Army’s 79th Infantry Battalion (IB) has assailed the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) for falsely claiming that the individuals they killed recently were military intelligence personnel. In a statement yesterday, 79IB commander Lt. Colonel Arnel Calaoagan said the victims were not connected with their unit and strongly condemned the senseless …

By JEN BAYLON Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson expressed confidence in the effectiveness of the One Hospital Command System implemented by the provincial government. “It’s not a perfect system, but it is an evolving system that we will constantly improve. We just have to do some refinements,” Lacson said. While the system is not …

By JEN BAYLON The Binalbagan River, which flows through the towns of La Castellana, Moises Padilla and Isabela in Negros Occidental, remains muddy and turbid following the minor explosive eruption of Kanlaon Volcano on May 13. John de Asis, head of the La Castellana Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, reported that the river …

Negrenses living in far-flung areas now have better access to government healthcare services after the Negros Occidental provincial government launched the telemedicine or telehealth program in partnership with the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH), the Department of Health (DOH) end-referral hospital in Negros Island Region (NIR). Telemedicine refers to the practice of medicine …

Some 26 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Negros Occidental will showcase export-quality Negrense food products during the International Food Exposition (IFEX) Philippines 2025 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City from May 22 to 24. In a media forum in Bacolod City yesterday, Engiemar Tupas, chief trade-industry development specialist of DTI-Negros Occidental, …

By JEN BAYLON The Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB) has affirmed the interim cease and desist order (CDO) issued against Binalbagan-Isabela Sugar Company (Biscom) following a molasses spill into the Binalbagan River on April 19. Wilma Lagance, chief legal officer of the Environmental Management Bureau in Western Visayas (EMB-6), confirmed that the PAB converted the interim …

Government agencies in the Negros Island Region (NIR) are on alert and ready to provide aid after Kanlaon Volcano’s moderate eruption early morning of May 13. From securing voters and polling places during the 2025 national and local elections, the Police Regional Office (PRO)-NIR has shifted its focus to disaster response. PRO-NIR Regional Director Police …

Negros Oriental’s inflation rate declined further in April as anticipated by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), an official said yesterday. Engineer Ariel Fortuito, PSA-Negros Oriental chief statistical specialist and provincial head, said the headline inflation in April was pegged at -0.1 percent from -0.7 percent in March. Fortuito said last month’s overall inflation rate was …

By JEN BAYLON A magnitude 5.1 earthquake jolted the area off Negros Occidental’s Sipalay City at 8:33 a.m. on Saturday, May 17, followed by more than 20 aftershocks, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported. The quake’s epicenter was located 46 kilometers northwest of Sipalay at a shallow depth of five to 10 kilometers, …