Carla P. Gomez

Oct152021 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Briones authorizes creation of Victorias schools division

Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Benitez (Negros Occidental, 3rd District) thanked Education Secretary Leonor Briones Thursday, October 14, for authorizing the establishment of a separate schools division for Victorias City in Negros Occidental.“A separate schools division for Victorias means closer supervision of schools and will provide more focus and support to ensure delivery of quality education and promote the welfare of students and teachers in Victorias,” he said.Briones authorized the creation of the City Schools Division of Victorias City, to separate from its mother schools division, the Schools Division of Negros Occidental.This is because it has met the Department of Education-Department of Budget and Management organizational and staffing standards requirement of at least 75...

Oct152021 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Greg gets DOH support for heart, kidney center

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Rep. Greg Gasataya said the Department of Health is supporting his initiative to establish a heart and kidney specialty center in Bacolod City.In a consultation meeting held by the House Committee on Health for House Bill No. 2686 on Wednesday, October 13, the Bacolod representative said he was informed that the DOH is supporting his initiative.House Bill No. 2686 seeking to establish a Bacolod-Negros Heart and Kidney Center, was initially filed by Gasataya as House Bill No. 7454 during his first term in the 17th Congress and was refiled as House Bill No. 2686 in 2019."I am thankful for the support of the Department of Health and the House Committee on Health. This goes hand in hand with the Republic Act we authored establishing the Bacolod City General Hospital and I am hopefu...

Oct142021 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Guv submits P5.7B budget to SP, Covid battle a priority

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Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson submitted the P5.7 billion Negros Occidental proposed budget for 2022 to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for review on Wednesday, October 13.He said while there is a dramatic increase in the province’s share of the National Tax Allotment, formerly the Internal Revenue Allotment, caused by the Supreme Court ruling on the Mandanas-Garcia case, it is still an uphill climb with the continuing battle against COVID-19.The health crisis has shifted priorities and spending policies, he said.“Our foremost goal is to get back on track at the soonest possible time, he said.He said among the continuing priorities of the provincial government are the Provincial Integrated Safe Water Program, the One Hospital Command System, the Center for Emerging and Re-Emerging I...

Oct142021 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Fully vaxxed travelers to Bacolod don’t need negative Covid results

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All travelers entering Bacolod City by land, sea or air, including those from Panay Island and Guimaras, who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, will no longer be required to present negative RT-PCR test results.This was stated by Mayor Evelio Leonardia in Executive Order No. 49 Series of 2021 amending travel documentation for travellers bound for Bacolod City that was released Wednesday, October 13, and takes effect immediately.Resolution No. 124-B, S. 2021, issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, as amended by IATF Resolution No. 125, S. 2021, provides that a duly-issued COVID full-vaccination card may be accepted as an alternative to a negative RT-PCR test result for interzonal travel, Leonardia said.The IATF considers an ...

Oct142021 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

German envoy sees huge potential for cooperation with Negros, Bacolod

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Capitol and City PIO photosGerman Ambassador Anke Reiffenstuel met with Negros Occidental and Bacolod officials to discuss the potential for cooperation in business and environment protection between her country and the province and city on Wednesday, October 13.During her meeting with Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson at the provincial Capitol in Bacolod, they talked about business and investment opportunities for the province, as well as tourism promotion.“It is important as an ambassador to this country, to know the country,” she said.“Negros is an important place to go because it has an important role to play in the country with the sugar industry and we do a lot of projects here,” she said.The ambassador said she was in Negros to learn more about it and the potential fo...

Oct142021 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Capitol aims to vaccinate 80,000 Negrenses in 2 weeks

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Capitol photoThe Negros Occidental provincial government aims to vaccinate 80,000 Negrenses in two weeks with Pfizer vaccines, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Wednesday, October 13.Since October 1, the vaccination drive of the province has been open to all sectors, he said.The provincial government is also ready to vaccinate those aged 12 to 17 years old as soon as they get the go signal from the national government, Diaz said.Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and provincial consultant Alfredo Abelardo Benitez in a meeting with Provincial Health Office officers on Tuesday set the vaccination target at 8,000 Negrenses a day, he said.Negros Occidental received 77,000 doses of Sinovac and 53,820 doses of Pfizer vaccines on October 9, and 107,000 doses of Pfizer vac...

Oct142021 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Covid hits 8, Sipalay closes treasurer’s office, birthing unit

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Dionilo Bogtae photoThe Sipalay City treasurer’s office and birthing unit have temporarily been closed after eight employees tested positive for COVID-19, Executive Assistant Dionilo Bogtae, head of the Sipalay Emergency Assistance and Rescue Services, said Wednesday, October 13.He said the birthing unit was temporarily closed starting Tuesday after seven employees tested positive for COVID-19.One employee at the treasurer’s office also tested positive and 23 close contacts have been swabbed for COVID-19 tests, he added.The treasurer’s office and birthing unit have temporarily been closed to give way for the disinfection and contact tracing, he said.*

Oct142021 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Misleading allegation against Leni meant to scare off landowners: Lito

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Photo from Leni Robredo FB“An old and misleading allegation is doing the rounds again. This is obviously meant to scare off landowners who might want to support Vice President Leni Robredo’s bid for the presidency in 2022,” former Negros Occidental Gov. Rafael Coscolluela, Negros for Leni convenor, said Wednesday, October 13.Coscolluela said being cited is then-Rep. Leni Robredo’s co-authorship of a bill that sought to create a commission “to investigate circumvention and violations of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law.”That bill was submitted by the Good Governance Committee, of which Robredo was co-chair, in response to alleged corruption in the Department of Agrarian Reform, he said.Robredo has reiterated that the bill “was intended as an anti-corruption measure foll...

Oct142021 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

NACUSIP alarmed over threat of no 13th month pay for workers

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The National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines is alarmed over the statement of Presidential Adviser on Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion that employees may not get their 13th month pay and may end up empty handed if the government doesn’t ease restrictions on businesses, NASCUSIP national president Roland de la Cruz said Wednesday, October 13.“We, in the trade union movement are one with the business sector in calling for government to ease health and safety restrictions provided that there are enough vaccines for the workers to avail in order to have a more secure working environment to protect not only the customers but the workers as well,” he said.“However, floating the idea of employers to deprive workers of their much-awaited 13th Month Pay leaves a ...

Oct132021 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Government fast tracking hike in Negros, Panay power supply

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Government authorities are fast tracking the release of permits for biomass power plants to begin operating and hastening the completion of submarine cables to increase the power supply for Negros and Panay, and bring down the cost of electricity.The assurance was given at a House Committee on Energy virtual meeting Tuesday, October 12, chaired by Deputy Majority Leader and Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo, who said it was held at the insistence of Rep. Francisco Benitez (Negros Occidental, 3rd District).Representatives from Negros and Panay through House Resolution 2206 had sought an inquiry into the power rate increases in their areas.“Consumers should not shoulder the cost arising from lack of power supply and congestion due to the damage to the NGCP (National Grid Corporati...