Carla P. Gomez

Nov22021 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Bacolod SP okays P3.25B 2022 budget on 2nd reading

The Sangguniang Panlungsod approved the proposed P3.250 billion budget of Bacolod City for 2022 on second reading during a special session Monday, November 1, Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran said.The 2022 budget is expected to be approved on third and final reading at the SP's regular session on Wednesday, November 3.Familiaran said the members of the SP asked questions from resource persons during the special session, and a lot of focus has been placed on health services amid the COVID-19 pandemic.The proposed P3.250 billion budget is 25 percent higher than this year’s budget of P2.6 billion, Councilor Cindy Rojas, SP Committee on Finance chair, said.Large chunks of the budget have been allocated for general public services - P1.6 billion, education - P65 million, health serv...

Nov12021 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Overwhelming votes will make cheating in 2022 hard: Diokno

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Senatorial candidate Chel Diokno in a Zoom townhall meeting with Negrense multi-sectoral leaders Saturday evening, October 30.*Human rights lawyer Chel Diokno, who is running for senator under the ticket of presidential aspirant Leni Robredo, said it will be difficult for the opposition to be cheated if they get overwhelming votes in the 2022 elections.“The more overwhelming the vote is, the harder it will be to cheat,” he said.Diokno was reacting to concern that the majority of the Commission on Elections commissioners has been appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte.In the race for the presidency with a four or five cornered fight, every vote will really make a difference, said Diokno, who serves as chairman of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) and is the founding dea...

Oct312021 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Bacolod appeals Alert Level 4 status; guv places Negros Occidental on Alert Level 2

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City PIO photoMayor Evelio Leonardia announced on Sunday, October 31, that he has asked the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases to downgrade Bacolod City’s Alert Level 4 status to Alert Level 3 effective Monday, November 1.Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, on the other hand, has issued an executive order placing Negros Occidental under Alert Level 2 from November 1 to 14.Leonardia, in a letter to Health Secretary Franciso Duque III, IATF chairman, Friday, October 29, appealing for the downgrade said there is a significant reduction of COVID-19 cases in the city to reasonably loosen restrictions in order for Bacolod residents to resume earning activities.Under the COVID-19 alert level system, Level 4 refers to areas where case counts are high or increa...

Oct302021 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Bacolod, Negros Oriental on Alert Level 4, for special monitoring – IATF

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The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has placed Bacolod City and Negros Oriental under COVID-19 Alert Level 4 from November 1 to 14, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque announced Friday, October 29.Alert Level 4 refers to areas where case counts are high or increasing, and where the total bed and intensive care unit utilization rate is high, the IATF said.Meanwhile, the IATF placed Negros Occidental under Alert Level 2.Bacolod City and Negros Oriental, along with Aurora and Davao Occidental that are under the highest alert level of four have been tagged as areas for special monitoring, Roque said.Em Ang, Bacolod Emergency Operations Center executive director, said under Alert Level 4 all minors cannot go out. Under the previou...

Oct302021 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Negros, Bacolod vaccinate 285 Pediatric A3 minors

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Pediatric A3 vaccination at the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital.*Capitol photoGov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, Provincial Consultant Alfredo Benitez, Mayor Mark Golez and Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz at the launching of the Pediatric A3 drive at Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital.*Capitol photoCity PIO photoNegros Occidental and Bacolod City vaccinated 285 minors with comorbidities aged 12 to 17 years old, under the Pediatric A3 category, against COVID-19 on Friday, October 29.In Bacolod, 208 were vaccinated at the Riverside College, Em Legaspi Ang, City Emergency Operations Center executive director, said.At the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City 77 minors with comorbidities from various parts of Negros Occidental were vaccinated, Dr....

Oct292021 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Lack of 5 SB members hampering approval of Moises Padilla budget

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Mayor Ella Garcia-Yulo is seeking the opinion of the Department of Interior and Local Government on whether the P214 million Moises Padilla budget for 2022 can be approved by only six members of the town’s Sangguniang Bayan.“We only have five (SB) members and one presiding officer out of 11 so we don’t know if that can be considered a quorum,” she said.That is because four SB members are detained on murder charges, while once councilor facing rape raps is at-large, she said.“We are waiting for the opinion of the DILG, and what is a possible option,” Yulo said.Vice Mayor Ian Villaflor and SB members Jimmie Don Plaza, Jose Morito Flores and Vincent Garcia are detained for what they have called trumped up and politically motivated murder charges.They were accused of killin...

Oct292021 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Negros Oriental holds off easing travel protocols

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There will be no easing of Negros Oriental travel protocols for now.“Because of the increasing number of COVID cases and deaths in the province as of yet, the easing of border requirements will be held in abeyance,” Negros Oriental spokesman Bimbo Miraflor said Friday, October 29.Miraflor said fully vaccinated individuals will still be required to present negative antigen test results and their vaccination cards.Those who are not vaccinated or have not been fully vaccinated will also still need to present negative RT-PCR test results in order to enter the province, he said.These will be required until the COVID-19 cases and deaths in Negros Oriental go down to a tolerable level, he said.Gov. Roel Degamo was set to issue an executive order easing travel protocols on Nove...

Oct292021 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Makati court suspends criminal proceedings vs. Yanson 4 lawyer

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The Metropolitan Trial Court of Makati granted a motion filed by Anna Isabella Galvez, lawyer for the Yanson 4, for the suspension of proceedings and to hold warrants of arrest issued against her in abeyance, lawyer Carlo Joaquin Narvasa said in a press release Friday, October 29.The Office of the City Prosecutor of Makati (OCP Makati) had indicted Galvez, the assistant corporate secretary of the Vallacar Transit Inc. (VTI) faction of the Yanson 4 for “falsification of public documents and perjury”.Recommended bail for Galvez was P36,000 for falsification and P18,000 for perjury.The resolution stemmed from a complaint filed by Olivia Yanson and Leo Rey Yanson against Galvez alleging that as “purported” VTI assistant corporate secretary she falsified declarations in the General ...

Oct292021 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Sputnik, Pfizer vaccines arrive

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The Spunik, Pfizer vaccines that arrived at the Bacolod-Silay Airport Friday.*CAAP-Bacolod photoThe first batch of Gamaleya (Sputnik V) and 140,400 doses of Pfizer vaccines versus COVID-19 arrived for Bacolod City and Negros Occidental at the Bacolod-Silay Airport on Friday, October 29.Bacolod City received 17,550 Pfizer doses and Gamaleya (Sputnik V) - Component I - 2,500 ampoules and Component II - 2,500 ampoules.Negros Occidental received 122,850 Pfizer doses and Gamaleya (Sputnik V) - Component I - 5,000 ampoules and Component II - 5,000 ampoules.*

Oct282021 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

PNP: Moises Padilla councilor facing rape raps wanted

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A councilor of Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, facing rape raps cannot be located, the town’s cop chief said Thursday, October 28.PMaj. Randy Babor, Moises Padilla cop chief, said they served the warrant of arrest on Councilor Fred Villaflor Bangcaya, alias Dimpol, 45, on Tuesday but he could not be located.The councilor is facing raps for five counts of rape, Babor said.Acting Presiding Judge Eric Anthony Ateniao Dumpilo of the Guihulngan, Negros Oriental, Regional Trial Court Branch 64 issued the warrant of arrest on October 15.The case is a non-bailable offense, the judge said.An 18-year-old grade 11 student in her complaint claimed she was raped multiple times from January to April this year.Bangcaya could not be reached for comment.*