Author: user user

PBA: Adrian Nocum’s big game not enough for ROS, rues late lapses

Adrian Nocum’s career night was overshadowed by two turnovers that contributed to Rain or Shine’s Game 2 loss and enabled Converge to level their PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinal series.

Nocum dished out 18 assists on Friday, most of which came when the Elasto Painters made their run in the second half of the game held at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

But Nocum was quick to acknowledge that he was the guilty party in those pair of miscues that eventually set up Mikey Williams’ three-point shot that extended the FiberXers’ lead down to the final 35 seconds.

Before Williams’ shot, Rain or Shine trailed 124-123, with a chance to take the lead.

‘Balewala yun kasi natalo kami (That was nothing because we lost),’ Nocum, who also had 22 points, said on his assist numbers. ‘I have to play smarter and make better decisions during crunch time.’

The Elasto Painters rising star registered the most assists by any player since the 2012-13 Philippine Cup when Mike Cortez also had 18 for Air21 in a 105-100 loss to Talk N’ Text. The PBA record is 28 set by Eugene Quilban for 7-Up in 1992.

Behind Nocum’s playmaking, Rain or Shine came back from 15 down and either tied or took the lead during the fourth quarter. He also knocked down a three-point shot that evened the count at 120-all, the game’s last deadlock.

It was the second straight game that Rain or Shine came back, having won Game 1 despite being down by 21. But Nocum knows it can’t rely on similar situations moving forward.

‘We’re just eager to win, but I hope we don’t fall into another big deficit because it’s really hard to make a run and it wears you out. So next game we have to keep it close,’ he said.

Cyprus Department of Meteorology – Forecast for the Sea Area of Cyprus (A)

Atmospheric pressure at the time of issue: 1018hPa (hectopascal)

Weak low pressure is affecting the area. Increased cloud will be present at times with isolated showers and/or thunderstorm.

Visibility: Good, but moderate to poor in showers

Sea surface temperature: 25°C

Warnings: NIL

AREA

PERIOD

WIND

STATE OF SEA

West Coast

Morning

Northeast to Southeast 3, gradually Southeast to South 3 to 4

Smooth to Slight

Afternoon

West to Northwest 3 to 4, at times locally 4

Smooth to Slight

Night

Northeast to Southeast 3, locally Variable

Smooth to Slight

South Coast

Morning

Northwest to Northeast 3, gradually Southeast to Southwest 3 to 4

Smooth to Slight

Afternoon

Southwest to West 3 to 4, at times locally 4

Smooth to Slight

Night

Southwest to Northwest 3, locally Variable

Smooth to Slight

East Coast

Morning

Southwest to Northwest 3, gradually Southeast to Southwest 3 to 4

Smooth to Slight

Afternoon

South to Southwest 3 to 4

Smooth to Slight

Night

Southeast to Southwest 3, locally Variable

Smooth to Slight

North Coast

Morning

Southeast to Southwest 3, gradually 3 to 4

Smooth to Slight

Afternoon

Southwest to Northwest 3 to 4

Smooth to Slight

Night

Southeast to Southwest 3, at times locally 3 to 4

Smooth to Slight

Time of issue: 0530

Date: 31/10/2026

Iloilo City gears up Tigkaralag; Cemetery visitors brave floods

The Iloilo City Operations Center (OpCen) has been placed on blue alert for this year’s observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, locally known as Tigkaralag.

Under Executive Order / Memorandum Order No. 409 signed by Mayor Raisa Treñas, the blue alert took effect at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 31, and will remain in effect until 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3.

Despite some areas being flooded following Saturday morning’s downpour, early cemetery-goers, along with hired cleaners and painters, braved the floodwaters to prepare gravesites at Tanza Public Cemetery.

Many Ilonggos chose to pay their respects ahead of Nov. 1 and 2 to avoid the heavy crowds expected during the Tigkaralag observance.

Treñas directed all emergency response clusters to maintain full readiness for immediate deployment if necessary.

Additionally, District and Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils (BDRRMCs) were instructed to activate their respective Emergency Operations Centers and elevate their alert status to blue.

Barangay officials are required to continuously monitor Tigkaralag-related activities in their areas and promptly report any incidents to ensure quick coordination and response.

City officials emphasized that the implementation of the Blue Alert status is a proactive preparedness measure to guarantee public safety and security, particularly for residents visiting local cemeteries.

The public is also reminded to observe basic household safety measures before leaving home, such as turning off electrical appliances, locking all doors and windows, and ensuring no lighted candles are left unattended.

For emergencies, the public may contact the Iloilo City Emergency Operations Center at 0919-066-2333 or 0961-653-5111 (Viber).

Cebu prelate to faithful: ‘Reclaim’ Halloween meaning

As Christendom prepares to observe All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, the prelate of the country’s oldest Catholic community called on the faithful to go back to the real meaning of these holy days.

Cebu Archbishop Alberto Uy has called on the faithful to reclaim Halloween’s Christian meaning by celebrating holiness and honoring the lives of saints, rather than dwelling on horror and frightening imagery.

In his pastoral message titled ‘Why a Parade of Saints?’ Uy encouraged parishes, schools, families and communities to organize a Parade of Saints as an alternative to Halloween celebrations centered on evil, violence, horror and death.

‘Because what we repeatedly present to our children helps shape their imagination, their values and even their dreams,’ Uy said.

Cebu prelate to faithful: ‘Reclaim’ Halloween meaning to the lives of men and women who exemplified faith, love and service to God.

‘For Christians, therefore, this is a wonderful opportunity not simply to entertain our children, but also to introduce them to the men and women who show us what a beautiful human life can become when it is given to God,’ he said.

‘Heroes of faith’

Uy described saints as ‘heroes of faith’ who lived real lives marked by struggles, failures, prayer, sacrifice and love. They came from different walks of life, including the clergy, religious communities, families, schools, workplaces and missionary fields.

‘Instead of asking our children only, ‘What scary character do you want to be?’ perhaps we can also ask them, ‘What kind of saint do you want to become?” he said.

The archbishop cited St. Francis of Assisi, St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Carlo Acutis as examples of saints whose lives can inspire children to care for the poor and creation, value small acts of love, and pursue holiness even in the digital age.

Through a Parade of Saints, children can learn about the saints by wearing costumes, discovering their stories and understanding the virtues they embodied, turning religious instruction into a meaningful and engaging experience.

Uy said the celebration would also remind Christians that light is stronger than darkness, Christ has triumphed over evil, and death is not the end because of the promise of resurrection.

He clarified that celebrating faith does not mean abandoning wholesome Halloween activities, such as wearing costumes, sharing food and enjoying time with family and friends. Rather, these activities can also become opportunities to strengthen children’s faith.

He envisioned streets filled with children dressed as saints, singing, smiling and carrying flowers and candles as they learned that holiness can be joyful.

‘That is more than a parade. It is evangelization in motion,’ Uy said.

He encouraged parishes to make the celebration creative, beautiful and joyful, emphasizing that saints should not be viewed as distant but as people whose lives of love and faith remain relevant today.

Being a senior citizen doesn’t excuse bad behavior

Pity the nation that feels constrained to remind its senior citizens about elementary good manners and right conduct.

A recent social media post by actress Rita Avila went viral after she recounted an encounter with a fellow senior citizen at a movie theater.

Essentially, she recounted being at the cinema when a man seated next to her let his phone ring out loudly. She reminded him that they were inside a theater. He just said: ‘Pasensya na, senior na.’ She riposted back, ‘senior na rin ako.’

My most memorable experience with a senior citizen’s bad behavior happened inside a commuter train. That day, the train was fully packed with passengers and two high school students got shoved or ‘pranked’ into the space that is reserved for senior citizens and PWD commuters, separated only by a flimsy rope. The two youngsters were obviously embarrassed and uncomfortable. I and other senior passengers knew it was not intentional on their part, but one old lady passenger didn’t like it at all and started berating the poor high schoolers endlessly and loudly, calling them undisciplined, unruly, disrespectful and so on.

The funny thing was there was space enough for them and most of us didn’t mind them being there. At last, one elderly woman told the fulminating lady it was ok because the youngsters got reprimanded enough. But she wouldn’t ease up and only shut up when the two teeners were forced to get off at the next station. To me that old cantankerous woman is the Pinoy equivalent of the white privileged ‘Karen’ in America.

We have this tendency to give older people a pass on certain things. Matanda na kasi. The casual excuse-‘senior moment’-is being often abused as a free pass for many unacceptable behavior of elderly people. It’s everyone’s way of dismissing a shameful display of bad conduct from an old folk who ought to do better.

I don’t think age should be an excuse for behaving rudely. Advancing age does not exempt anyone from basic courtesy. What is even more concerning is the potential for younger individuals to internalize and emulate such unbecoming conduct.

Just last week, an octogenarian friend lamented the vanishing ‘courteousness and urbanidad’ among today’s youth. I told him: ‘Yes, that may be true, but many of our fellow seniors are no better. Our peers aren’t setting a good example either.’

The problem is some of us old folks are now so focused on ourselves, we have dulled our sensitivity to other people, or even lost it. We often suffer from our inability to read the room many times. We speak out of turn or say hurtful words or behave badly without the fear of being admonished or rebuked by someone older because there’s no one else older than us in the room.

Setting aside the elderly who are suffering from dementia, why do some normal elderly people decide to no longer be polite or respectful? Why do they lose their ‘filters’ as they age and fail to realize that their comments are rude, crude, or outlandish?

We were not like this before. The phenomenon of being able to act boorishly with impunity began to manifest itself some time ago. Our society got infected by the virus of rudeness and vulgarity and soon even senior citizens began to stop being kindly elders.

Remember the ex-president, himself a senior citizen, who delighted in speaking rough ‘kanto’ language in his speeches? He had no compunction to curse in public and was even applauded for it, which made him come off as being ‘authentic’ and ‘totoo.’

To me his ascension to the height of national power was the inflection point in our social cultural history, that marked our collective descent into crassness, crudeness and vulgarity. Because he could use cuss words in public without being called out, soon everything was permitted and rudeness and crassness became the new normal.

Four-letter words? Kanto language? Scandalous relationships? You encounter them on social media postings so often, they have lost their shock value. We are now a society with no filters and no restraint.

The incidents of seniors behaving badly are just a reflection of what we have turned into. The question is, have Filipinos completely lost our grasp on basic manners? I pray not.

My collective assessment is that it is not true of all senior citizens but a few who want to enjoy fully that sense of entitlement as much as they can while they still can, enforce and perpetuate a privilege, believing it is their right to be served. They know their days are numbered and they no longer have to please anyone.

It is borne out of many causes: fear, resentment, frustration, bitterness, sense of failure, and perhaps physical pain.

One thing though about seniors. Yes, they do tend to focus on themselves, but sometimes they will respond to a gentle reminder. Etiquette still resonates with many of my senior friends. I am lucky to have a wife who always restrains me when I act or speak too uninhibitedly for comfort. In creative sessions I am invited to participate, I tell the young people present to let me know if I am rude in my manner and not to take my words personally if I say something outrageous or offensive.

billboards do the job socmed

We seniors need to go back to the idea of senior citizenship as a time of eldership, not a time to seek and enjoy more entitlements.

We need to show our people, young or old, that we are not all crude and crass and feeling entitled. We need to let them know that having manners is still a huge factor to being a decent human being. Let’s reclaim the traditional values that have always defined the authentic Filipino character, most specially ‘paggalang sa kapwa, sa puso, diwa, salita at gawa.’

Delta: Police arrest four suspected armed robbers, cultists, recover firearms, motorbikes

The Delta State Police Command has arrested four suspects and recovered seven firearms, ten live cartridges, two stolen motorcycles and suspected illicit drugs in two separate operations targeting cultism and armed robbery in Umunede and Ughelli.

According to the state police public relations officer, SP Bright Edafe, a resident of Umunede in Ika North East Local Government Area reported at the Umunede Division on Friday that a 30-year-old man, Chibuike Ezeji, had allegedly threatened to kill him while brandishing a pistol.

The suspect was promptly arrested.

Edafe, in a statement on Saturday, said, ‘Acting on the complaint, operatives of the Division, in collaboration with members of the Umunede Civilian Anti-Cult Group, proceeded to a residence along Umunede Expressway belonging to one Oscar Ignatius, a suspected cultist, where the alleged offender was reportedly residing.

‘The operation led to the arrest of Chibuike Ezeji and one Ikenna Emeka, male, 22 years.

‘A search of the premises led to the recovery of one pump-action gun, one locally made cut-to-size gun, three locally made pistols, eight live cartridges and substances suspected to be cannabis and methamphetamine (ice).

‘The suspects are in custody, while investigations are ongoing.’

SP Edafe also disclosed that operatives of the Commissioner’s Special Assignment Team (CP-SAT), acting on complaints of motorcycle snatching by armed men along Stadium Road, Saniko and adjoining areas of Ughelli, raided a suspected criminal hideout in the Ighrovie area of Ughelli, arresting a 22-year-old Peter Emobaye and a 29-year-old James Emmanuel.

During the operation, one stolen Qlink motorcycle was recovered.

The police spokesman stated that, following preliminary interrogation, the suspects led operatives to the residence of their alleged gang leader, identified as Sunny, in Ufuoma town, where one stolen Daylong motorcycle, one fabricated Beretta pistol, one locally made shotgun and two live cartridges were recovered.

The suspects, he said, are in custody, while efforts are ongoing to apprehend the fleeing gang leader and other members of the syndicate.

How AI-generated photos entered voter register by INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday blamed some of its registration officers across the country for the appearance of suspected artificial intelligence (AI)-generated photographs and other irregularities in its preliminary voters’ register.

The commission alleged that some officials exploited their authorised access to its registration system to introduce questionable records into the database.

INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology Dr Lawrence Bayode speaking during an interview on Arise Televisionsaid that investigations revealed that some registration officers used their login credentials to upload suspicious photographs and other irregular entries into the voters’ register.

According to him the commission uncovered the anomalies through its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) which was deployed to scrutinise registration records and identify questionable entries.

‘We have registration officers on the field. And these registration officers they have login details to log into the system’ he said.

‘So what we have found is that some of these registration officers not all of them now some of them across the states nationwide they’ve done different things to bring these irregularities onto the register.’

Bayode explained that while some of the suspicious photographs appeared to have been generated using artificial intelligence others were products of poorly conducted registration exercises.

‘Some of these pictures are AI-generated. Some of them not AI-generated but very bad registration. And this thing got into the register by the registration officers and because they have access to register people’ he stated.

The ICT director said INEC had identified the questionable records and established how some of the irregularities were introduced into the system.

But he said the commission had yet to establish the motive of the officials involved.

‘When the ABIS was run on the system we saw these people. We know what they did. We know how they did it. But honestly I don’t know why’ Bayode added.

He maintained that the electoral body has commenced efforts to sanitise the voters’ register even before publishing the preliminary version.

Bayode also noted that the commission was working under pressure to conclude the exercise within the statutory 90-day period.

The revelation comes amid growing public concerns over the credibility of the voters’ register following the discovery of suspicious photographs alleged duplicate entries and other discrepancies.

The controversy erupted after INEC uploaded its preliminary register of voters to its official website on October 26 prompting scrutiny from members of the public.

Screenshots subsequently circulated on social media showed photographs suspected to have been generated using AI attached to voter records .

Apart from the questionable images some Nigerians raised concerns over alleged multiple registrations while others complained that their details were missing from the online database despite having previously registered.

INEC had earlier clarified that the online register was the same preliminary version displayed physically at Registration Areas nationwide between October 9 and 15 during the Display Claims and Objections exercise.

In a statement issued on October 27 the commission acknowledged that some questionable records had been identified and flagged during the physical display.

It assured Nigerians that a review was underway and that necessary corrective measures were being taken to address the anomalies.

The electoral umpire further emphasised that the published register was provisional and should not be mistaken for the final certified list of eligible voters.

According to the commission the online publication did not capture all the ongoing verification and data-cleanup activities aimed at eliminating irregular entries.

INEC is expected to conclude its verification adjudication and data-cleanup processes before certifying the final register of voters on December 15 2026.

Atiku wants culprits identified prosecuted

Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Atiku Abubakar asked the commission to identify the officials involved and prosecute them accordingly.

He called INEC’s admission that registration officers introduced artificial intelligence-generated images and other irregularities into the register as a serious failure of electoral safeguards.

He spoke through the Director of Strategic Communication of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council Phrank Shaibu.

The former vice president demanded an independent forensic audit of the register claiming that more than 20 million AI-generated images might be involved and urged the commission to preserve all voter records image files access logs and audit trails for scrutiny.

‘INEC has admitted that some AI-generated images are on the voter register and that registration officers introduced irregularities across the country.

‘The Commission charged with protecting Nigerians’ votes has acknowledged that its own system was abused by those entrusted to operate it. This is a catastrophic failure of leadership and safeguards’ he said.

Atiku faulted INEC for acknowledging that it knew how its officials tampered with the register but was yet to explain the circumstances or identify those responsible.

He challenged the commission’s leadership to disclose the evidence name the officials involved and explain why they had not been suspended or prosecuted.

‘Amupitan cannot admit the misconduct withhold the perpetrators’ identities and expect Nigerians to accept ignorance as an excuse. He must account for this failure now’ he said.

The former vice-president warned against any attempt to correct the register without preserving evidence of the alleged manipulation insisting that independent experts political parties civil society organisations and credible international observers should be allowed to examine the records.

‘No disputed record should be certified until the audit is complete’ he said.

Atiku also accused INEC of failing to address opposition parties’ demands for disclosure of the companies contracted to produce sensitive election materials.

He said transparency about the contractors and the safeguards governing their work was necessary to build confidence in the electoral process arguing that opposition parties should have access to the same information available to the governing party.

‘If INEC refuses to disclose the truth we will go to court and compel it. Every official found to have tampered with the register must be prosecuted’ he said.

Atiku called on opposition leaders and the international community to demand an independent audit full disclosure and accountability from the electoral commission.

He also accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of allowing INEC to evade scrutiny warning that the commission could not expect public confidence while withholding information about the alleged irregularities.

The ADC campaign council said the credibility of the 2027 general elections depended on INEC’s willingness to identify those responsible disclose the contractors handling election materials and submit the register to independent scrutiny.

Amupitan: Mistakes of the past won’t occur in 2027

INEC chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan yesterday said the commission was working round the clock and with relevant stakeholders to ensure that the mistakes of the past do not occur in the 2027 general election.

He however said that the conduct of a successful general election is a collective national enterprise which requires the collaboration of the political parties and other organs to deliver a credible election.

Amupitan who spoke when the ECOWAS Fact-Finding Mission for the 2027 general elections visited the commission said while INEC serves as the impartial umpire the ultimate success of the ballot relies on political parties adhering to internal democracy and peaceful campaigning civil society driving voter education media houses combating fake news and digital disinformation and security agencies maintaining neutral protection.

The INEC boss said that a stable transparent and peaceful election in Nigeria remains a vital anchor for democratic governance in West Africa Amupitan said the commission was not unaware of several cases of violence across the country which he said constitute a threat to the successful conduct of the elections.

The commission he said was working in collaboration with the Interagency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to ensure that all security challenges are addressed to ensure the safety of everyone participating in the elections.

He said ‘We have recognised that insecurity in some areas is a major challenge. We recognise that no election can be deemed successful if citizens or election personnel operate under threat. Working through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) alongside the Nigeria Police Force the Department of State Services (DSS) the NSCDC and the Armed Forces we have operationalised an intelligence-driven security architecture known as the ‘ICCES Tentacle.

‘This framework uses early risk-mapping tools to secure our 176846 polling units safeguard ad-hoc staff-particularly members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)-and guarantee uninhibited access for all voters including Persons with Disabilities (PWDs)’ he said.

He noted that Nigeria as a founding member and steadfast pillar of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has long recognised that its national democratic stability is inextricably bound to the collective peace democratic consolidation and regional prosperity of West Africa.

He said that the presence of the group at the INEC headquarters is not a routine diplomatic engagement but as a testament to our shared commitment to upholding the highest standards of constitutional governance democratic integrity and peer accountability across our sub-region.

The INEC chairman emphasised that the 2027 General Election represents a pivotal milestone in Nigeria’s uninterrupted democratic journey since 1999 adding that in a sub-region currently navigating complex political transitions and security challenges a stable transparent and peaceful election in Nigeria remains a vital anchor for democratic governance across West Africa.

He told his visitors that the scale of this exercise is vast. Nigeria’s voter population has officially crossed the historic threshold with our National Register of Voters now standing at over 103 million registered citizens.

He said that the voter register is currently being displayed across the country and whatever discrepancies are noticed will be corrected and the register will be properly cleaned up for release on the 15th of December 2026.

He also disclosed that serve the electorate and the country the Commission will deploy personnel and technological assets across 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory covering 774 Local Government Areas 8809 Registration Areas (Wards) and 176846 Polling Units.

‘The Presidential and National Assembly Elections will hold on Saturday 16th January 2027 while the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly Elections is scheduled for Saturday 6th February 2027

‘To ensure operational readiness the Commission has adopted a hands-on field-first approach. We have moved away from administrative assumptions by personally conducting Zonal Readiness Assessment Tours across the geopolitical zones in Nigeria.

‘We have concluded the readiness assessments in the South-West North-West South-East North-East and we are heading to Port Harcourt Rivers State for the South-South edition. The zonal assessment offers us the opportunity to engage directly with field staff inspect logistics and infrastructure readiness and consult with traditional and community leaders’.

He said the zonal assessment visits are important because it will help the commission set the tone for the election and ensure that staff of the commission are reminded of the need to remain neutral as well as receive reports about their preparedness for the election.

He disclosed that during one of the zonal visits the commission discovered the need for early deployment because of the terrains in such areas as well as issues of insecurity prevalent in those areas.

He disclosed that the off-cycle and by elections conducted by the commission offered it the opportunity to put to test some of our plans as we prepare for the election especially our BVAS which makes the election more transparent as a result of the use of technology for the election.

He said ‘It was a good opportunity to test the BVAS again to avoid the glitch which we experienced in 2023 and transmission of results has been very effective in all these elections. It is the same experience we are taking to the general election because we believe that every election provides its own lessons.

‘The mistakes of the past will not be allowed to repeat itself. The mock accreditation exercise scheduled to take place sometimes in November is aimed at testing the BVAS for accreditation and transmission of results just to be sure that we have been able to cure the problem of glitch we had in 2023’.

According to the INEC Chairman out of the 14 major statutory milestones set out for the 2027 General Election the Commission has successfully executed nine of the schedule.

He said ‘following the completion of three structured phases of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise we recently concluded the physical display of the Preliminary Register of Voters at Registration Areas nationwide.

‘To complement this and ensure maximum public confidence we have also published the Preliminary Register on our dedicated online portal (display.inecnigeria.org) for public scrutiny claims and objections preparatory to the certification of the Final Register of Voters on 15th December 2026’.

He explained that the commission has received through the various Electoral Officers and Resident Electoral Commissioners about 600 complaints adding that the display of the register online further confirm such complaints and the commission is working to ensure that the complaints are properly addressed before the final display.

‘Technological discipline remains the cornerstone of public trust in our electoral process. The Commission has optimised our hardware and software suite. The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) will be deployed for dual biometric accreditation (fingerprint and facial) while our electronic Result Management Systems-including the newly introduced eEC8A electronic verification platform-guarantee that results declared at polling units are transmitted transparently and verified via the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

He also said that to ensure that results declared at the polling units are the ones transmitted to the IReV the commission has introduced some guards which include making sure that the results are authenticated at the polling unit before uploading them to the IRev.

‘Recognising that technology is only as reliable as the human beings operating it we have implemented sweeping staff welfare reforms. Under this administration we secured approval for the landmark Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure (CEMBSS) completely pulling our workforce out of the regular civil service scale alongside a 150 per cent increase in state operational overheads.

‘In return we maintain a policy of zero tolerance for administrative negligence extortion or partisan compromise backed by mandatory Oaths of Neutrality under Section 26 of the Electoral Act 2026.

‘As we look ahead to the monumental task of 2027 there are specific areas where the continued partnership and collaboration of ECOWAS will be invaluable to our institutional mission. First we welcome the robust deployment of long-term and short-term ECOWAS Election Observation Missions whose independent and objective assessments lend vital international credibility to our democratic process.

‘Second we seek enhanced peer-learning and technical exchange regarding best practices in combating sophisticated electoral disinformation managing logistics in complex terrains and strengthening inclusive voter education.

‘We look to ECOWAS to maintain active diplomatic solidarity-engaging political actors civil society and key stakeholders to ensure that peace accords and democratic commitments undertaken in Nigeria resonate positively across the entire West African

CDO authorities advise early cemetery visits to beat the heat

With tens of thousands expected to flock to usually congested cemeteries, local authorities here have laid down strict guidelines for this year’s ‘Undas’ or ‘Kalag-Kalag’ observance, banning overnight stays, liquor, and smoking while urging the public to dodge the peak daytime heat.

Visiting hours across all private and public cemeteries in the city will be strictly limited from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. to maintain order.

City officials are implementing tighter crowd control measures to manage older public cemeteries that reflect decades of severe congestion and fragmented record-keeping. The Bulua Public Cemetery currently squeezes more than 10,000 graves into a three-hectare property, while the Carmen Public Cemetery holds roughly 5,000 interments within a compact two-hectare lot.

To prevent untoward incidents in these packed spaces, authorities have prohibited bladed weapons, firearms, playing cards, sound systems, and karaoke machines. Cleanliness will be strictly enforced, and smoking, vaping, and e-cigarettes are completely banned inside the premises.

With rising temperatures, the city is advising the public to monitor the state weather bureau’s advisory on the day’s heat index and avoid cemetery visits between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Special rules are in place for the city’s largest burial ground, the 19.8-hectare Bolonsiri Public Cemetery in Barangay Camaman-an. Recently redeveloped into the City Memorial Park, the site holds an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 remains, tens of thousands of which were recently exhumed and transferred to a centralized ossuary.

Visitors to the City Memorial Park are explicitly prohibited from bringing matches and lighters. Littering is also strictly banned, with violators facing immediate fines through an Ordinance Violation Receipt.

To help visitors cope with the heat across the sprawling grounds, the city has set up free water refilling stations inside the park and is urging residents to bring their own tumblers. Free rides using city hall vehicles will also be available from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. on November 1 and 2.

Negros Occidental gov calls for ‘compassionate’ pricing of sugar

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said he hopes the buying price of sugar hits P3,000 per 50-kilogram bag (Lkg) to enable farmers to survive.

‘We cannot compel the traders to buy at the price we want [but] we are hoping they understand the situation and are more compassionate,’ he said.

This crop year, the country is estimated to produce 1.6 million metric tons of sugar, and he hopes the farmers can average P3,000 per LKg to make it sustainable, Lacson said.

At the current P2,600 per bag, even efficient farms will just break even, so you can imagine what will happen to small farmers, he added.

The good sign is that recent events show the sugar industry has united against the importation of sugar, he said.

‘I hope the unity among the sugar leaders will continue,’ Lacson added.

A confederation of sugar planters’ groups and labor unions in the sugar industry earlier called on the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to urgently address sugar millgate prices, warning that current market rates are below production costs and threaten the survival of local farmers.

Market data from the first weeks of October shows average raw sugar mill-gate prices in Negros Occidental hovering at around P2,600 per 50-kilogram bag (LKg), they said in a joint press statement.

The group is now pushing for a baseline mill-gate price of at least P2,900 per LKg to help planters cover surging expenses for fertilizer, fuel, hauling, and farm labor.

Second-half rally takes Sarasavi Uyana through in inaugural girls’ rugby encounter

Sarasavi Uyana College produced an impressive performance to defeat Hemamali Girls’ School 32/10 in the inaugural ‘Singha Denuwange Ran Satana’ 12-a-side girls’ rugby big match, played at

the Bogambara Grounds in Kandy recently.

Hemamali made the early breakthrough through Chaturika Ranaweera, while Tisali Perera replied for Sarasavi Uyana. At the short breather it was 10 apiece.

Sarasavi Uyana raised the tempo after the break, adopting an attacking approach and putting the Hemamali defence under pressure. Isanka, Kaumodi, Umasha and Bimasa crossed the line, with a successful conversion helping the winners complete a 32-point tally. Heshan Gamage coached the winning outfit. Deepal Punyawardena refereed. Isanka Weeraperakrama won the Player of the Match award while Gayathri Sanganayaka won the Rising

Star award. (SJ)