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ILOILO – Barangays with clustering cases of dengue can declare a state of calamity, according to the Provincial Health Office (PHO). PHO data showed 231...

BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA ILOILO City – The Department of Health (DOH) will conduct “indoor residual spraying” (IRS) against Zika mosquitoes in all Barangay Benedicto houses...

BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA ILOILO City – Mayor Christian Sorongon of New Lucena, Iloilo filed yesterday administrative and criminal complaints at the Office of the Ombudsman...

BY CYRUS GARDE BACOLOD City – A barangay kagawad in Bago City, Negros Occidental died in a shootout with police officers out to catch a...

BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA ILOILO City – A sudden rush of water swept away nine college friends having a good time at the foot of Montillano...

front roxas ROXAS BY PRINCE GOLEZ Manila Reporter MANILA – Secretary Mar Roxas is the Liberal Party (LP) candidate for the 2016 presidential election. This was confirmed by no...

BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA   ILOILO City – Will the proposed bridge linking the islands of Panay and Negros push through this time? Negros Occidental’s Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr., the new chairman of the Regional Development Council (RDC), is hopeful. “It has been a long dream of the people of Panay and Negros,” he said. However, Marañon himself admitted that this is a long-term project needing a feasibility study. Marañon is eyeing the assistance of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Korean International Cooperation Agency or any international financial organization in the conduct of the feasibility study. “There were several proposals about the project before but no study has been made,” said the governor. Marañon also banks on the help of President Benigno Aquino III. In 2013, Marañon coordinated with Iloilo’s Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. for the revival of the proposal through a joint resolution. An earlier proposal was for a 14.5-kilometer bridge connecting Barangay Tomongtong in E.B. Magalona, Negros Occidental to Banate, Iloilo. A few years back also, Iloilo City’s Rep. Jerry Treñas initiated a House resolution lobbying for the said project. It was supported by 19 congressmen from the Visayas, including various district representatives from Western Visayas. Treñas said the bridge will cost P53.66 billion. On the other hand, Marañon thanked the President for the confidence he had given him. The Negros Occidental governor succeeded Capiz’s Gov. Victor Tanco as RDC Region 6 chair. The first RDC meeting under Marañon will be held tomorrow in this southern city./PN

BY MAE SINGUAY   BACOLOD City – Since February of this year, the Home for the Blind in Barangay Mansilingan is without electricity. The Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) cut the shelter’s electricity connection for failing to pay its bills. The arrears, which go way back to 1998, has reached nearly a million pesos – P858,000 to be exact. City hall’s Department of Social Services and Development (DSSD) head Pacita Tero said she has already informed Mayor Monico Puentevella about the Home for the Blind’s problem. DSSD operates the Home for the Blind. It currently shelters 36 clients and their families, said Tero. The center’s power consumption reaches between P30,000 to P36,000 every month, said added. The Home for the Blind sits on a one-hectare lot. Tero confirmed some of the arrears were incurred during the administration of then Mayor Evelio Leonardia, now congressman. DSSD has assigned “house parents” to take care of the clients’ needs. Tesoro said they told her they always forward the bills to the city hall. Tero did not discount the possibility that the Home for the Blind’s electricity supply is being illegally tapped. There were “squatters” in the vicinity, said Tero. Mayor Puentevella has not yet ordered that the Home for the Blind’s arrears with Ceneco should be paid, said Tero. He wanted to be clarified about the arrears first, she said, and the monthly electricity consumption at the Home for the Blind./PN

BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA and RUBY SILUBRICO ILOILO City – They used to fight for victims of injustice. Now, two policemen claim to be victims of...

BY MAE SINGUAY BACOLOD City – The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is holding a public hearing today on the amended Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) and Supplemental Agreement...