BINALBAGAN, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL -- Five (5) years after the global pandemic of Coronavirus Disease-19 (CoViD-19) from China, city officials of 'San Juan' out of 'Mega Manila' in National Capital Region (NCR) returned to the main roots to celebrate 'Wattah Wattah Festival' (WWF) on Tuesday morning (June 24th, 2025 -- Manila local time). This was recently, in relation to a feast of 'St. John the Baptist' showering everyone to cleanse for the coming of Jesus Christ by baptizing them with water.

This year's festival is regulated under City Ordinance #14 - Series of 2025 ensuring a safer and more organized celebration for good, as long as the areas designated only in the "Basaan Zones" from 7am to 2pm. Liquor bans and outside the said zones such as dirty water are absolutely prohibited.

Here in Negros Island Region (NIR), life goes everything back to normal to celebrate fiesta with some examples in 'Bayawan, Negros Oriental' to eat food and attend lighter events like locals do. Boosting up the hype, the Binalbagan Fire Station (BFS) spewing everyone out for the annual celebration out of Mega Manila. But, things were a little bit concerning… Is it really legal to do this in Negros Occidental?

Both in 'San Juan City, Metro Manila' and in 'Barangay San Juan, Binalbagan' this said NIR province is traditionally almost the same, often community-organized events honoring its also said patron saint. We can agree to tell you that, yes, celebrations like this at WWF are completely legal.

Local government units (LGUs) located in both places have imposed strict guidelines to guarantee the safety of the people and uphold the cultural importance of the event. They are encouraged to dress suitably, observe health standards and adhere to the zones where water is splashed to avoid any possible disturbances, accidents or riots that erupted during the festive celebration.

As the 'Wattah Wattah Festival' (WWF) continues to spread out its cultural origins in San Juan City to the Binalbagan town, the Negrosanons can now enjoy the same colorful tradition without having to travel to Mega Manila in NCR and in the process bringing the festive water-splashing festival a bit nearer to their location without losing its legal and cultural heritage.

PHOTO COURTESY: BFP Region 6 - Binalbagan Fire Station via FB PHOTO

SPECIAL THANKS to Dominique Canio for contributing a news tip!

SOURCE: *https://metronewscentral.net/manila/metro-cities/san-juan-prepares-for-wattah-wattah-festival-on-june-24 *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wattah_Wattah_Festival *https://www.philatlas.com/visayas/r06/negros-occidental/binalbagan/san-juan.html *https://www.facebook.com/100090017011040/posts/706588269018401 *https://www.facebook.com/100070950008262/posts/764784792563181 and *https://www.facebook.com/100095164953574/videos/1611081836548497/

(Written by Dominique Canio / Regional News Contributor of OneNETnews)

BINALBAGAN, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL -- A woman identified as alias 'Negra' recently surrendered to the Binalbagan Municipal Police Station (BMPS) in connection with a fraudulent mobile electronic wallet transaction that swindled a local store. The surrenderee comes as authorities reveal the suspect had plans for another scheme intended to mimic a legitimate pawnshop payment for GCash.

The incident, which occurred on Thursday afternoon (June 5th, 2025 -- Bacolod local time), involved a female suspect from Victorias town who allegedly defrauded "KYG Auto Parts Trading" on 'Carmen Street, Barangay San Pedro, Binalbagan, Negros Occidental'. Security footage captured the suspect during the transaction.

Authorities examining the background of the transactions that involved unverified cash-ins, withdrawals or purchases of medium to high sums. OneNETnews understands that there was no clarity on whether the transactions themselves were fraudulent since no details were confirmed prior to the victim sending money out of their GCash auto trading store account to the suspect.

The fintech e-wallet firm is collaborating with the BMPS to examine the case further and possibly retrieve any stolen funds. The firm is also expected to deactivate the suspect's digital e-wallet account pending her arrest. Fulfilling a sense of accountability, the woman recently turned herself in at BMPS. Police say, her surrender is expected to make the identification process easier and also help retrieve the stolen proceeds.

With the surrender of alias 'Negra', the BMPS is now also investigating her alleged plan to defraud a local pawnshop using the mobile e-wallet platform.

CONTRIBUTED SCREENGRAB COURTESY: Rico Cometa Gonzales & Binalbagan PNP via FB Group PHOTO BACKGROUND PROVIDED BY: Team

SOURCE: *https://www.facebook.com/100041077715555/posts/1480837079962202/ and *https://www.facebook.com/groups/887133052986119/permalink/1043052177394205/

WINNERS: Binalbagan, Negros Occidental Local Elections 2016 Results #Halalan2016 #Eleksyon2016 #votePH #PHvote #LocalPolls2016

Here are the winners of Binalbagan, Negros Occidental local elections 2016. The official tally and results of the local government elections held across the municipality of Binalbagan, Negros Occidental on Monday, May 9, are collected centrally and are put in COMELEC Mirror Server, which are also available from other sources, including Rappler, GMA Network, ABS-CBN, and other local agencies. The…

Binalbagan, Negros Occidental Official Local Candidates and Mock Poll 2016 #Halalan #Eleksyon #votePH #PHvote

Local elections will be held in Binalbagan, Negros Occidental on May 9, 2016 within the Philippine general election. The voters will elect for the elective local posts in the municipality: the mayor, vice-mayor and councilors. Binalbagan is a first class municipality in the province of Negros Occidental has a population of 65,431 people people according to the 2010 census. It is politically…

Watch Pagputol ng mga puno sa Negros Occidental, ipapaimbestiga ng lokal na pamahalaan ng Binalbagan video