Volunteers of Pamilya Magbinuligay Kita sa Kauswagan (MKK) yesterday spearheaded a drive in an effort to strip away election-related paraphernalia in the city.

City Councilor-elect Kalaw Puentevella joins several students and young volunteers in cleaning up and scraping walls and other surfaces of political propaganda materials.*

"Operation: Cleanup" kicked off at the Bacolod City public plaza where Mayor-elect Monico Puentevella took charge in removing posters, tarpaulins and other materials in the common poster areas designated by the Bacolod COMELEC.

Of the 31 winning mayors in Negros Occidental on Monday’s polls, 21 are incumbents, the remaining 10 are newcomers.

Of the 10 newcomers, four defeated incumbent mayors, while the other six were candidates of either United Negros Alliance (UNA) or the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) as replacements of graduating mayors.

Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental - Some 300 residents, mostly women and children, in the remote Sitios of Naupao, Malmag and Mahalang, all in Brgy. San Pedro and Lamboanon, Brgy. Fatima, respectively, left their houses and sought refuge to safer place around 6 p.m. on Tuesday when the rebels, under a certain Commander Jimlan of the NPA’s Southeast Front of Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros, clashed with 79th IB troopers several times as the enemies held their ground before withdrawing to different directions.

On May 13, search engine giant Google named three USLS ComSci students: Franz Kessler Sarmiento, Benj Mikko Adrian Tupas and Nyrmla Kate Grace Orcena, as three of its new Google Student Ambassadors in Southeast Asia for the School Year 2013-2014. The three will be formally welcomed by Google at the SEARCH SUMMIT on June 19-22, 2013 at Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

A suspect facing robbery charges was arrested by Kabankalan City policemen at about 2:30PM, Wednesday at Purok Paraiso, Brgy. Hilamonan of the said City.

PO3 Rafael Sta. Ana IV with PO2 Olympio Mark Emar and PO1 Antonio Acma effected the arrest of Clever Peñaranda, 31, of Brgy. 4 through an arrest warrant in criminal case number 2013-5945 for robbery.

Three reelectionists and three scions of political bigwigs have been proclaimed winners in the senatorial race only three days after the May 13 midterm elections.

The partial list of senators-elect was dominated by the administration’s Team PNoy, leaving only one spot for the opposition’s United Nationalist Alliance.

A REASON FOR EVERYTHING. The post-election scenarios in the local or Bacolod level, the provincial and district levels offered surprises for people.

Indeed, as we correctly pointed out, voting for councilors in the city was a mix of candidates, some from the Grupo Progreso, three from the Magnificent Seven and four from the MKK aggrupation of now Mayor Monico Puentevella.

In a hinterland town of seven barangays with only 12,570 registered voters, three members of a family are losing in their respective candidacy - with only a slim margin- losing big time after more than 30 years at the helm.

That was what happened to the De la Cruz family, whose father, mother, and son lost in Monday’s polls, despite the fact that the family has lorded it over the DSB leadership for morethan three decades, notwithstanding that they are all incumbent officials.

The son, incumbent DSB Mayor Laurence Marxlen De la Cruz lost his re-election bid to Jose Max Ortiz by 471 votes.

Former San Carlos City Mayor Eugenio Jose "Bong" Lacson was proclaimed vice governor-elect by the Provincial Board of Canvassers (PBC), as it completed the tally of election returns from 31 towns and cities yesterday morning.

Lacson got a total of 398,967 votes, while his rival, 5th District Board Member Melvin Ibañez, got a total of 370,640 votes or a difference of about 28,000 votes.

Lacson is the running-mate of Vice Gov. Genaro Alvarez Jr., who lost to re-electionist Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. In the gubernatorial race. Ibañez is Marañon’s running-mate.

The May 13, 2013 election in La Carlota City was exceptionally peaceful.

The polls opened on time at 7 a.m..

With early voters already lining up in precincts situated at the North and South Elementary Schools in the Poblacion and in designated polling places outside the city proper, where some voters displayed typical enthusiasm eager to support their candidates. A voter who wanted to know who is "Picos" was heard to say that this "person" will not cheat him of his vote. He was not familiar with the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machine.

The polls opened under good weather in the morning, but the afternoon rain stranded many voters on their way to their precincts.