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By CESAR JOLITO III With more than 3,000 residents still living inside evacuation centers since the December 2024 unrest of Kanlaon Volcano, La Castellana Mayor Añejo Nicor is sounding the alarm over the town’s dwindling resources and calling on the national government to act swiftly. Nicor confirmed that the municipality’s response funds have been exhausted after months …

The government is seeing progress in its efforts to contain the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) infestation that has threatened sugarcane farms in Negros Occidental. In an interview on Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon on Friday, July 11, Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) chief Pablo Azcona said of the 2,900 affected hectares, “almost 300” hectares are now considered …

The Negros Island Region (NIR) Roadmap, which will lay the foundation and set the direction and vision for the newly established region, is now taking shape. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), in coordination with the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev)-NIR, led the consultation with stakeholders for the finalization of …

By CESAR JOLITO III The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Negros Occidental is preparing for voter registration from August 1 to 10 in anticipation of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) on December 1, 2025, even as uncertainty looms over whether the polls will proceed as planned. Provincial Election Supervisor Atty. Ian Lee Ananoria …

The Bacolod City government enjoined Bacolodnons to take part in flood mitigation efforts after 26 tons of garbage were dredged from Mambuloc Creek on Thursday, July 10. In a statement yesterday, Mayor Greg Gasataya, who personally supervised the initial dredging operation, said civic participation is critical to the long-term success of the initiative. “I urge …

A notable decrease in prices of food and utilities reduced inflation rates in highly-urbanized Bacolod City and Negros Occidental in June, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed yesterday. In Bacolod City, the inflation rate for all income households eased further to 0.5 percent in June, from 2.4 percent in May, while the province …

By MAE SINGUAY Bacolod City Lone District Representative Alfredo Abelardo Benitez welcomed the decision of the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office to dismiss the complaint filed against him by his wife, Dominique Lopez-Benitez, for alleged violation of the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children (VAWC) Act. “After a thorough legal review, the prosecutor found no basis to charge me with …

By CESAR JOLITO III The former head of the Negros Occidental Progressive Alliance of Capitol Employees (PACE) stood firm on their role in filing a complaint that led to the dismissal of the former department head at the Capitol, saying it was the union’s duty to protect its members. PACE former President Renelo Lastierre broke …

By CESAR JOLITO III Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante, Jr. is being pushed by fellow local chief executives to become the next president of the Association of Chief Executives (ACE) in Negros Occidental. Escalante, who is serving his final term as mayor, is currently the most senior among the newly seated mayors following the 2025 …

By CESAR JOLITO III The 37th Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) of Negros Occidental will not function as a rubber stamp but as an active policy-shaping body that will ask the “right questions” to ensure that programs and projects are truly beneficial for the Negrenses, Vice Governor Jose Benito Alonso said. This, after the SP formally opened …