Panay News
WVMC pioneers advanced spine surgery
ILOILO City – Patients suffering from complex spinal disorders may no longer need to seek highly specialized surgical treatment outside Western Visayas after the Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) successfully performed the region’s first combined...
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DoubleDragon’s Hotel101 expands to Africa, signs deal for 750-room project in Egypt
H O T E L 1 0 1 G l o b a l Holdings Corp., a subsidiary o f P h i l i p p i n e - l i s t e d DoubleDragon Corporation, h a s s i g n e d d e f i n i t i v e binding agreements for a country- wide development partnership in Egypt, kicking off with the...
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PEOPLE-CENTERED HOUSING
ILOILO CITY – The administration of Mayor Raisa S.Treñas has strengthened its commitment to provide Ilonggo families with safe and dignified homes with the signing of the Comprehensive Iloilo City Local Housing Code of 2026, or PASILONG Code of 2026,...
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WELLS FAIL SAFETY TESTS
ILOILO City — Several shallow wells in Iloilo City have been recommended for condemnation after laboratory tests found their water remained contaminated despite chlorination, raising serious public health concerns as authorities prepare for a possible...
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Iloilo tightens sugarcane movement to stop pest spread
I LOILO – Sugarcane farmers, traders and mill operators across I l oilo Province now face stringent quarantine restrictions, mandatory disinfection and tighter government surveillance as authorities move t o c o n t a i n t h e devastating red-striped...
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THREE-TIME WINNER. HALL OF FAME HONOREE
Iloilo City’s Mayor Raisa S. Treñas, joined by Local Economic Development and Investment Promotion Office head Velma Jane Lao, receives the 2026 Most Business-Friendly LGU Award and Hall of Fame distinction for Iloilo City during the 52nd Philippine...
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PUV modernization faces funding hurdle; only P176M of P1.76B budget request OK’d
I LOILO Ci t y – The government’s public transport modernization program faces a major financial hurdle. The Department of Transportation ( DOTr) secured only P176 million, or 10 percent of its P1.76-billion funding request, raising serious questions...
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MISINFORMATION STALLS VAX DRIVE
ILOILO City – With fewer than half of its targeted Grade 7 students vaccinated last year, Iloilo City faces renewed pressure to protect thousands of schoolchildren from preventable diseases as health authorities prepare another immunization campaign...
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WV ON ‘BLUE’ ALERT
ILOILO City – An estimated 733,000 families across Western Visayas could suffer the effects of severe drought by the end of February 2027 as a strengthening El Niño threatens to cripple agricultural production, strain water supplies and jeopardize food...
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CITY HALL SERVICES CLOSER TO THE PEOPLE.
Ilonggos flock to the Atipan-on-the-Move caravan to access various government services right in their own community, bringing the Iloilo City Government closer to the people it serves. Through this initiative, Mayor Raisa S. Treñas fulfils her...
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Iloilo dominates WV agricultural production
ILOILO — Iloilo Province has cemented its position as Western Visayas’ agricultural powerhouse, dominating the production of 11 of the region’s 12 major fruit, vegetable and root crops in the second quarter of 2026, with its pepper harvest registering...
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Drill exposes communication gaps in WV coast guard emergency response system
ILOILO — Communication delays emerged as a critical weakness in the Philippine Coast Guard’s emergency response system despite the successful completion of its first large-scale, multiscenario maritime disaster exercise in the busy IloiloGuimaras...
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ILOILO REELS FROM P1-B PEST LOSSES
ILOILO — The Iloilo provincial government is moving toward declaring a state of calamity as losses from the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) infestation have soared to P1.181 billion, devastating more than 10,000 hectares of sugarcane farms and...
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SUPER EL NIÑO TO TEST JALAUR MEGA DAM
ILOILO — The looming super El Niño will put Iloilo’s P25.66-billion Jalaur River MultiPurpose Project Stage II (JRMP II) to its biggest test yet, as the partially operational project demonstrates whether its massive water reserves can keep thousands of...
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ONLY 12 DOLPHINS LEFT
ILOILO — Only 12 Irrawaddy dolphins remain in the Iloilo-Guimaras Strait, putting the critically endangered population dangerously close to disappearing from the area and underscoring the urgency of protecting Western Visayas’ increasingly threatened...
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Dinagyang 2027 abandons sports complex, brings all judging areas back to Calle Real
I LOILO City – After experimenting with the Iloilo Sports Complex as a major Dinagyang performance venue, organizers are bringing all j udging areas of the festival’s 2027 edition back to the historic Calle Real and the City Proper, applying lessons f...
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Tangke lagoon reopens but visitors must strictly follow environmental, safety regulations
ILOILO – Tangke Saltwater Lagoon i n Carles, I l oilo reopened to tourists on October 1 after a monthlong environmental and safety breather, but visitors returning to the famed Gigantes Group of Islands attraction must strictly observe environmental...
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Ilonggos warned against silent heart risks
ILOILO – Do not wait for a heart attack before checking your health. The Iloilo Provincial Health Office ( IPHO) urged Ilonggos to regularly monitor t heir blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and body mass index (BMI), warning that uncontrolled...
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FARE HIKE SQUEEZES HOUSEHOLD BUDGETS
ILOILO City – The latest public transport fare increases are forcing commuters in Iloilo to stretch already tight household budgets, with low-income workers and parents warning that the additional transportation costs could leave them with less money...
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NO MATRIX, NO FARE HIKE
ILOILO City — Public utility vehicle (PUV) operators and drivers in Western Visayas cannot collect higher fares starting today, Sept. 28, unless they first secure and prominently display the updated fare matrix, the Land Transportation Franchising and...
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MIGRATORY THREAT
ILOILO – Veterinary authorities have intensified surveillance against avian influenza in six coastal municipalities identified as high-risk areas due to sightings of migratory birds, as the province moves to prevent the entry of the highly contagious...
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REG’L ECONOMY AT RISK
ILOILO City – Iloilo’s business community has sounded the alarm over recurring power interruptions, manual load dropping (MLD) and rising electricity costs, warning that the continuing Visayas power shortage is threatening business productivity,...
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‘VERY STRONG’ EL NIÑO
ILOILO City – Ilonggos are being urged to conserve water and prepare farms for potentially severe dry conditions as a “very strong” El Niño threatens to slash monthly rainfall by 60 percent or more toward the end of 2026. T h e P h i l i p p i n e...
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COORDINATION GAP
ILOILO City – A coordination bottleneck that could delay the simultaneous deployment of emergency agencies was exposed during Iloilo City’s first full-scale simulation exercise (SIMEX), prompting authorities to improve the communication and dispatch...
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ENERGY EMERGENCY DECLARATION PUSHED
ILOILO City – Fearing that persistent power supply problems could escalate into a full-blown energy crisis and undermine Western Visayas’ growing economy, the Regional Development Council (RDC) is asking President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to declare a...
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NO INSTANT FIX TO POWER WOES
In the meantime, the Department of Energy (DOE) is rushing temporary measures, including battery storage facilities and power barges, that could begin easing yellow and red alerts as early as next month. Garin acknowledged that the short-term...
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RESOURCE BACKLASH
ILOILO City – The possibility of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and technology hubs rising in Panay Island is facing mounting opposition over fears these could strain the region’s power and water supplies, intensify mining and threaten...
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WVMC MOVES TO SAVE MORE PEOPLE’S VISION
ILOILO City — Eight patients have regained the chance to see through successful corneal transplants at the Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC), marking a major advance in eye care in the region but also exposing a critical obstacle to saving more...
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COST-OF-LIVING SQUEEZE
ILOILO City — Western Visayans are feeling an increasingly painful squeeze on their household budgets as the region’s inflation rate soared to 8.4 percent in August, the fourth-highest in the country, driven by sharply rising transport, utility and...
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FULL-SCALE DISASTER DRILL EXPOSES RESPONSE GAPS
More than 30 government, private, healthcare, humanitarian and academic institutions were put through a high-pressure test Wednesday, September 9, as PROJECT MedX: Western Visayas Emergency Medical Simulation Exercise ( SimEx) staged a multi-vehicle...
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MAJOR STRESS TEST
ILOILO — Western Visayas’ emergency response system will be put through a major real-world stress test this Wednesday as more than 30 government, healthcare, private and humanitarian organizations confront a simulated mass-casualty highway crash...
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WADING THROUGH MONDAY.
Students take off their shoes and socks and roll up their pants to cross a flooded pedestrian lane along Burgos Street in front of Iloilo Science and Technology University (ISAT-U) in La Paz, Iloilo City on Monday morning, September 7, 2026. Sudden...
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RARE CHILD CANCER DETECTED IN WV
ILOILO — A rare but potentially deadly eye cancer is threatening Wester n Visayas’ youngest children, with the government-run Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) already recording six retinoblastoma cases in the first half of 2026 — equal to the...
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PARTNERSHIP SEALED.
(Seated from left) WeeComm’s Project Director Wilson Saldon, Metro Pacific Iloilo Water, Inc.’s Chief Operating Officer Angelo David C. Berba, and WeeComm’s Chief Operating Officer Carson Choa and VP for Finance and Area Head of Iloilo and Bacolod...
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NO MORE FEAR
ILOILO City — The Department of Education (DepEd) has abandoned fear-inducing activeattack simulations in schools, replacing simulated gunfire, weapons and role-playing assailants with calmer, trauma-informed exercises designed to prepare students for...
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INDONESIAN HAZE REACHES ILOILO
ILOILO — Transboundary haze from widespread fires in Indonesia has reached Iloilo, with environmental authorities confirming its presence in Miag-ao town and prompting the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) campus there to enforce...
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‘JALAUR DAM IS SAFE’
ILOILO City – The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) has assured Ilonggos that the Jalaur High Dam can withstand major structural and seismic risks, citing a safety factor three times higher than standard requirements, multiple geological...
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CASCADING HAZARDS
ILOILO City – Citing the more than 250 billion liters of water capable of being stored behind the 109-meter-high Jalaur High Dam in the mountains of Calinog, Iloilo, an environmental group is pressing authorities to publicly disclose dam safety data,...
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PANAY HORNBILLS FACE EXTINCTION
ILOILO City – More than 95 percent of the world’s remaining Dulungan hornbills are now concentrated in the Central Panay Mountain Range, according to an environmental conservation organization, putting renewed urgency on protecting the species’ last...
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BEWARE OF DECEPTIVE AI COP PHOTOS – PRO-6
ILOILO City — Social media users who pass off artificial intelligence (AI)-generated images of people in police uniforms as genuine photographs could face legal consequences if the content falsely suggests Philippine National Police (PNP) authority,...
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BSKE POSTPONEMENT GAINS MOMENTUM
Discussions with lawmakers indicated support for giving barangay officials longer terms, a move that could effectively postpone this year’s elections, Recto told the media during his visit to Iloilo on Aug. 25. “Ti natal akay‘y ans a Kongreso....
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JUSTICE UNDER ONE SAFE ROOF
ILOILO City – A surge in prosecutors and long-running structural concerns at Iloilo’s decadesold Hall of Justice have given fresh urgency to the establishment of a new integrated justice complex, with the city government now providing more than 7,000...
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A CITY BUILT ON SERVICE AND PROGRESS.
The Iloilo City Hall stands as a monument to public service and urban growth as the city marks its 89th Charter Day today, August 25, 2026. Over nearly nine decades, Iloilo’s progress, Iloilo’s growth has been driven by the collective effort of its...
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SCHOOLS READY FOR EXTREME THREATS?
ILOILO City — Thousands of students and school personnel across Western Visayas will test their readiness for potentially life-threatening attacks on Tuesday, August 25, as all public and private elementary and secondary schools in the region conduct a...
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Carles temporarily closes popular tourist spot for safety, ecological recovery
ILOILO — One of northern I l oilo’s premier t ourist attractions will be off-limits for an entire month. The Carles municipal government ordered the temporary closure of Tangke “Saltwater” Lagoon in the Gigantes Group of Islands amid safety risks from...
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BULLYING CASES TRIPLE
ILOILO City — A sharp surge in bullying cases across Western Visayas schools has prompted the Department of Education (DepEd) Region 6 to strengthen learner protection measures, with officials unveiling a more aggressive campaign to safeguard students...
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FLOOD, LANDSLIDE THREAT WIDENS
ILOILO City — The threat of flooding and rain-induced landslides in Western Visayas extends beyond the 905 barangays officially classified as highly susceptible, with authorities warning that nearby and downstream communities could also be hit as...
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DRAINAGE OVERWHELMED
ILOILO City – This city’s existing drainage system can no longer handle the volume of water produced by intense rainfall, city engineers admitted after flooding swept through 65 barangays and affected 789 families or 2,529 individuals on Monday night,...
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Investor pulls out after public consultation backlash on proposed Oton AI data center
ILOILO – The investor behind the proposed 50- megawatt hyperscale artificial intelligence data center in Oton town has abandoned the project, days after his controversial walkout from a public consultation triggered backlash and left key questions...
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Iloilo grooms youth for Pax Silica jobs
ILOILO — The Iloilo provincial government is positioning young Ilonggos to compete for thousands of high-skilled jobs expected from the proposed Pax Silica, with Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. pushing early training in artificial intelligence (AI), drone...
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PROPOSED DATA CENTER STIRS CONTROVERSY
ILOILO — A proposed 50-megawatt hyperscale artificial intelligence (AI) data center in Oton, Iloilo has been thrown into uncertainty after its Norwegian proponent walked out of a public consultation on Friday afternoon, August 14, leaving residents’...
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ILLEGAL LPG REFILL SPILLOVER FEARED
ILOILO – The Iloilo provincial government and the Department of Energy (DOE) are establishing enforcement protocols across the province’s 43 local government units to prevent illegal liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) refilling operations from spilling over...
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ILOILO GOES ON ‘DISASTER MODE’
ILOILO – The Iloilo Provincial Government has shifted to “disaster mode” and is preparing tighter biosecurity measures after the redstriped soft scale insect (RSSI) infested more than 7,000 hectares of sugarcane plantations. Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr....
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Feed mill, coconut oil manufacturer in Pavia join MORE Power
PAVIA, Iloilo — Two major businesses in Pavia, Iloilo – Vitarich Corporation and Visayas Coco Development Incorporated – have recently chosen MORE Electric and Power Corporation ( MORE Power) as their electric distribution partner. Vitarich...
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PANAYONLY 1 ISLANDIN 5 WV EYED YOUTHFOR TALK NUCLEAR SEX POWERAT HOME PLANT
ILOILO City – Panay Island is emerging as a potential site for a nuclear power plant as the ILOILO City – Only one in every five young people in Western Visayas feels national government explores the technology to cut electricity costs and secure the...
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HAVOC AFTER DARK
ILOILO City – Tornado-like winds tore through several barangays here late Saturday night, damaging at least 52 houses, affecting families and toppling trees and electrical posts as emergency teams raced to clear roads and assist the displaced households.
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CHECK MEAT CERTIFICATE, NOT JUST PRICE – NMIS
ILOILO City – The National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) in Western Visayas has urged consumers to become “smart buyers” by checking whether meat shops, public market stalls, and supermarkets prominently display a valid Meat Inspection Certificate...
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ACCESSIBLE HEALTHCARE
ILOILO City – The Iloilo City Government is readying the rollout of free maintenance medicines for qualified senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs) with hypertension and diabetes, with the procurement of medicines now underway under the...
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PINNED TO THE GROUND
A policeman immobilizes and disarms an “active shooter” at the Department of Education - Region 6 compound in Iloilo City during a full-scale Active Shooter Incident Awareness, Response, and Simulation Exercise. The drill tested coordinated law...
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LTO suspends jeepney driver in viral overloaded incident
I LOILO – The Land Transportation Office (LTO) Region 6 has preventively suspended for 90 days the license of a jeepney driver after a viral video showed passengers riding on the vehicle’s roof and clinging to its exterior during a latenight trip from...
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TOWARD A BETTER ILOILO CITY FOR ALL
ILOILO City – Anchored on the theme “Celebrating 89 Years of Progress Toward a Better Iloilo City for All,” Iloilo City is celebrating its 89th Charter Day through a diverse, monthlong lineup of sports, cultural, economic, and public service activities...
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PANAY ISLAND EYED FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
ILOILO City – Panay Island is emerging as a potential site for a nuclear power plant as the national government explores the technology to cut electricity costs and secure the country’s long-term energy supply. But there are safety concerns.
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Councilors League nat’l assembly record turnout overwhelms Iloilo City hotels
ILOILO City — A recordbreaking turnout at the Philippine Councilors League ( PCL) National Assembly here overwhelmed Iloilo City’ s accommodation capacity, forcing organizers to secure additional hotels, condominium units, and billeting areas even...
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US KASAG’ IMPORT BAN THREATENS 15K WV JOBS
ILOILO City — The United States’ continuing ban on Philippine blue swimming crab (locally known as “kasag”) imports is threatening the livelihoods of an estimated 15,000 fishermen and processing workers in Western Visayas, prompting the Bureau of...
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‘DAMAGE CONTROL’
ILOILO City – Police are tracing the source and online distributors of a viral video showing two college students having sex at the Iloilo River Esplanade in Barangay Progreso, Lapuz district, warning that even those who merely forwarded or reposted...
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‘MASAKIT MAN SA AKIN!’
MANILA – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. announced on Monday that the government is preparing to file multiple cases before the Office of the Ombudsman against his cousin, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, in connection with the flood...
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GRAFT RAPS FILED VS USWAG ILONGGO SOLON
MANILA — The Office of the Ombudsman has formally filed 14 counts of graft before the Sandiganbayan against USWAG Ilonggo party-list’s Cong. James Ang Jr., escalating the government’s crackdown on alleged irregularities in flood control projects.
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