Carla P. Gomez

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson on Tuesday, October 12, commended the Pontevedra local government for its organized and effective contact tracing system for rapid antigen testing (RAT).“We commend Pontevedra, they have a team for contact tracing and another team for (COVID-19) vaccination,” he said, so their RAT drive on Saturday was a success.Because of the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination drive, there are some areas that do not have enough frontliners to also carry out the RAT at a faster pace, he said.Lacson said while the initial RAT rollout was conducted in 11 local government units, they would like to conduct it in more towns and cities, especially in areas that are ready.Pontevedra Mayor Jose Maria Alonso said the provincial government had initially identified...

Firefighters putting out the flames that engulfed a truck at Barangay Luna, Cadiz City, early Tuesday, October 12, killing a passenger and injuring its driver.*Cadiz Fire Station photoA Canter truck went up in flames at the Umapog Bridge in Barangay Luna, Cadiz City, at about 2:25 a.m. Tuesday, October 12.The driver of the vehicle sustained second and third-degree burns, while his helper was burned to death, FO1 Jerald Bugtong of the Cadiz Fire Station said.The helper was identified only as Romnick, 20, of Sagay City, Negros Occidental.The driver John Vincent Recto, 25, of Old Poblacion, Escalante City, was rushed to the Cadiz Emergency Clinic, Bugtong said.The Canter hit the steel railing of the bridge, fell on its side and went up in flames, he said.The damage to ...

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said he is submitting the proposed P5 billion 2022 budget of the Negros Occidental provincial government to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan this week.Lacson may submit the proposed budget to the SP as early as Wednesday, October 13, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.The deadline for its submission is Friday, October 15, but it will be submitted soon, Lacson said.The Negros Occidental provincial government is expected to get more funds under the National Fund Allotment, previously known as the Internal Revenue Allotment.Lacson attributed the hike to the Supreme Court’s Mandanas Ruling increasing the share of national government tax revenue transferred to local governments.Among the priorities to be included in the budget will be health am...

Noime Nicor, 71, La Castellana Liga ng mga Barangay chairperson.*The mother of La Castellana Mayor Rhumyla Nicor Mangilimutan succumbed to COVID-19, Monday, October 11.Noime Nicor, 71, La Castellana Liga ng mga Barangay chairperson, died at the South Bacolod General Hospital at about 8:30 a.m. Monday, the mayor said.She is the wife of former La Castellana mayor and current vice mayoral candidate Alberto Nicor.The mayor said her mother, who was diabetic, refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19.Mangilimutan said her message to the public is: “COVID is real, get vaccinated because no amount of money can save you if you are hit by the virus.”She pointed out that hospitals are now faced with a lack of oxygen and medicine supply.The public should get vaccinated to p...

It will now be easier for fully vaccinated individuals to enter Negros Occidental.They will no longer be required to submit negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results as long as they have vaccination cards indicating that they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with verifiable Quick Response (QR) codes, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Monday, October 11.This is a national protocol that is being implemented starting October, he said.The vaccination cards that will be accepted are those issued by the Negros Occidental provincial government and from other areas uploaded in the Department of Information and Communications Technology portal with corresponding QR codes for swift verification, Diaz said.The verifiable QR co...

The Department of Health (DOH) lowered the COVID-19 risk classification of Bacolod City and Negros Occidental from high to moderate on Monday, October 11, although both areas continue to report triple digit cases daily.Bacolod City remains the lone area in Western Visayas under Alert Level 4, while Negros Occidental was downgraded to Alert Level 3, Dr. Ma. Jocelyn Te, DOH 6 Medical Officer IV, said in a virtual press briefing.Both areas received 152,490 doses of COVID-19 vaccines Sunday, October 10.The COVID-19 average daily attack rate of Negros Occidental of 8.41 percent from September 9 to 22 dropped to 8.12 percent from September 23 to October 6, Te said.In Bacolod City, the COVID-19 average daily attack rate of 21.76 percent from September 9 to 22 dropped to 21.50 perc...

Twelve new COVID-19 Delta and two Theta cases have been detected in Bacolod City, Em Ang, and Emergency Operations Center executive director, said Monday, October 11.The oldest of the 12 hit by the highly contagious Delta variant is a 90-year-old male and the youngest is a 1-year-old female.The persons hit by the Delta variant are from barangays Villamonte and Vista Alegre – three each, Taculing and Mandalagan - two each, and Granada and Masilingan – one each, Ang said.Those hit were a 90-year-old male, 57-year-old female and 61-year-old female from Villamonte; 1-year-old female, 62-year-old male and 87-year-old female from Vista Alegre; 7-year-old male and 38-year-old female from Taculing; 52-year-old male and 67-year-old male from Mandalagan; 64-year-old female from Granada; ...

Photo from THE EAGLE Facebook pageJustine Valero Cientos of Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod (CSA-B) ranked fourth out of 321 board examinees with an 82.30 percent rating during the October 2021 Chemical Engineering Licensure examination.Seven out of 17 takers from CSA-B passed the Chemical Engineering licensure examination with a total average of 41.18 percent, The Eagle, the official tertiary student publication of CSA-B reported.The six other CSA-B passers are Marylee Azarraga Cristales, Irish Marie Da-anton, Ched Raemar Ledesma, Dyryl Sionosa Ortiz, Kristal Jean Perez and Jelmar Santibañez, itThe Professional Regulation Commission said the overall national passing rate for the October 2021 Chemical Engineering board examination is 47.42 percent, producing 321 new chemical en...

Capitol photoThe objective of the Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT) campaign of the provincial government is to sweep the entire Negros Occidental to swiftly halt the spread of COVID-19, Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez, provincial consultant on economic affairs, said Monday, October 11.On Saturday, 599 Negrenses in five cities and six towns in Negros Occidental underwent RAT and 56 tested positive or about 9 percent, he said.More tests were conducted on close contacts of COVID-19 persons on Monday but the results were not out yet.The RAT allows the provincial government to immediately determine if close contacts of COVID-19 hit persons are also positive for the virus.That will enable local governments to then immediately trace the contacts of those who test positive, he adde...