Negros Now Daily / Negros Weekly

10/07/2025

BACOLOD REP. ALFREDO “ALBEE” BENITEZ ON THE DISMISSAL OF
THE VAWC CASE AGAINST HIM

"I welcome the decision of the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office dismissing, for lack of merit, the complaint filed against me, under the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children (VAWC) Act.

"After a thorough legal review, the prosecutor found no basis to charge me with economic abuse or psychological violence. The allegations were unsupported by evidence and did not meet the legal standards for criminal prosecution.

"Throughout this process, I remained silent, out of respect for my family and confidence in the legal system. This resolution confirms what I have maintained from the beginning—that the accusations were baseless and malicious.

"I ask that this matter now be laid to rest, and that innocent individuals, especially my children, be given the privacy to move forward away from this controversy."* (via Councilor Caesar Distrito, spokesperson of Benitez)

09/07/2025

NEGROS NOW DAILY | ONLINE EDITION | JULY 10, 2025

09/07/2025

P1.9-M SHABU SEIZED IN
BACOLOD, PONTEVEDRA

Separate buy-busts in Bacolod City and Pontevedra town in Negros Occidental led to the seizure of P1.9 million worth of suspected shabu from six suspects on Wednesday (July 9), police reports showed.
Operatives of Bacolod City Police Office City Drug Enforcement Unit led by PLt. Col. Antonio Benitez arrested five drug suspects at Purok Lubi in Barangay 3.
FULL STORY >> https://tinyurl.com/y66mhjxs

Separate buy-busts in Bacolod City and Pontevedra town in Negros Occidental led to the seizure of P1.9 million worth of suspected shabu from six suspects on Wednesday (July 9), police reports showed.

09/07/2025

SEN. BAM AQUINO STILL
WITH INDEPENDENT BLOC

Returning Senator Bam Aquino said on Tuesday (July 9) that he remains with the independent bloc contrary to claims that he has left the opposition and joined the Senate majority.
Aquino met with Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson at the Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City on Tuesday to thank him for the support during the May 12 elections.
FULL STORY >> https://tinyurl.com/489jzdzb

Returning Senator Bam Aquino said on Tuesday (July 9) that he remains with the independent bloc contrary to claims that he has left the opposition and joined the Senate majority.

09/07/2025

ESCALANTE POISED TO BECOME
NEXT NEGROS ACE PRESIDENT

Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. said on Tuesday (July 9) some mayors want him to be the next president of the Negros Association of Chief Executives (ACE), being the most senior mayor in Negros Occidental.
He is now serving his third and last term.
Escalante, the secretary-general of the United Negros Alliance (UNegA), said he has yet to finalize his decision on accepting the endorsement but he is inclined to take on the role.
FULL STORY >> https://tinyurl.com/4htuwrsa

Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. said on Tuesday (July 9) some mayors want him to be the next president of the Negros Association of Chief Executives (ACE), being the most senior mayor in Negros Occidental.

09/07/2025

P348-M IN SOCIAL PENSIONS DISBURSED
TO 58.1K BENEFICIARIES IN NEGROS OCC.
• Cheryl G. Cruz

Around P348.6 million in social pensions had been received by 58,101 beneficiaries in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental in the first semester of this year, the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Western Visayas said July 8.
Of the social pensions, 52,131 beneficiaries from Negros Occidental received P312,789,000, while 5,970 Bacolod senior citizens got P35,820,000.
FULL STORY >> https://tinyurl.com/3up2ace2

Around P348.6 million in social pensions had been received by 58,101 beneficiaries in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental in the first semester of this year, the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Western Visayas said July 8.

09/07/2025

DENR VALIDATES BAGO’S 10-YEAR
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN

A team from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environment Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) Region 6 met with Bago City Mayor Mayette Javellana-Yao July 9, for the validation of the city’s 10-year Solid Waste Management (SWM) Plan.
The DENR-EMB6, represented by environment management specialist II, Engr. Victor Ureta, and environment monitoring officer Vince Raymundo, said that Bago has been compliant for having a 10-year SWM plan, as mandated under Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
FULL STORY >> https://tinyurl.com/yck776jj

A team from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environment Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) Region 6 met with Bago City Mayor Mayette Javellana-Yao July 9, for the validation of the city’s 10-year Solid Waste Management (SWM) Plan.

09/07/2025

NEGOCC TOPS AVERAGE RICE
YIELD PER HECTARE IN WV

Negros Occidental ranked first in terms of average yield per hectare in rice production in Western Visayas in the first half of 2025, making it one of the region’s top producers recognized by the Department of Agriculture (DA).
The province’s average yield is 3.94 metric tons (MT) per hectare, data released by the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) July 9 showed.
FULL STORY >> https://tinyurl.com/4pjxnvxw

Negros Occidental ranked first in terms of average yield per hectare in rice production in Western Visayas in the first half of 2025, making it one of the region’s top producers recognized by the Department of Agriculture (DA).

09/07/2025

JAVI EXTENDS FINANCIAL AID
TO KIN OF SILAYNON VICTIMS

The Negros Occidental Third District congressional office has extended P530,296 in financial assistance to the families of the fatalities in the recent shooting incident and vehicular accident in Silay City.
Two persons were killed in the Election Day shooting in Barangay Mambulac while seven died during a vehicular accident in Barangay Guimbalaon on June 27.
FULL STORY >> https://tinyurl.com/mvfpx8pu

The Negros Occidental Third District congressional office has extended P530,296 in financial assistance to the families of the fatalities in the recent shooting incident and vehicular accident in Silay City.

09/07/2025

NUTRITION AND RESILIENCE

Two emails I received from Kalipay Negrense early this month reminded me of two important observances in the country this month.
Kalipay Negrense is a Negros-based foundation advocating the interest of disadvantaged children, among them, the homeless, neglected, abandoned, malnourished and abused ones.
FULL STORY >> https://tinyurl.com/3camn2ae

Two emails I received from Kalipay Negrense early this month reminded me of two important observances in the country this month.

09/07/2025

BREAKING BARRIERS,
BUILDING BRIDGES

Have you ever felt that God is exclusive for a certain religious group? Are there people that you are excluding from God’s grace?
The encounter between Peter and Cornelius is one of the most important turning points in the early Church. It marked the moment when the Gospel fully opened to the Gentiles.
FULL STORY >> https://tinyurl.com/3vzuwbvv

Have you ever felt that God is exclusive for a certain religious group? Are there people that you are excluding from God’s grace?