Carla P. Gomez

LTO-6 photoThe Land Transportation Office and police arrested an alleged manufacturer of fake drivers’ licenses in Bago City and two others in Bacolod City Thursday, August 26, LTO 6 Assistant Regional Director Gaudioso Geduspan said.They were arrested for license fixing activities and falsification of driver's licenses, he said.Marlon Pandungan was arrested at his home in Bago City where he manufactures fake licenses, Geduspan said.Fifteen fake drivers’ licenses, and the machines and supplies used by Pandungan for their manufacture were confiscated, he said.Jefferson Panisa and Loribelle Antiquera were arrested at the Central Market in Bacolod City with five fake driver’s licenses, Geduspan added.The joint anti-fixing entrapment and follow-up operations were led by...

The first Negros Occidental resident hit with the COVID-19 Delta variant was retested Thursday, August 26, and found negative for the virus.Six Delta variant cases were earlier detected in Bacolod, which is a highly urbanized city that is not under the jurisdiction of Negros Occidental.The first case in Negros Occidental is a 52-year-old overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who is from Talisay City, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.The OFW returned from the United Arab Emirates and was quarantined in Manila for 24 days, and was issued a clearance by the Bureau of Quarantine to return to Talisay City on August 11.However, the provincial government was informed on Wednesday, August 25, that genome sequencing of his specimen showed that he had been hit by the Delta varia...

Former Rep. Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez, who is running for mayor of Bacolod City against incumbent Evelio Leonardia in the May 2022 polls, said he has yet to announce his official lineup of candidates.Benitez issued the clarification amid numerous social media posts of his alleged slate for 2022, some of which included allies of Leonardia.“The official lineup of candidates for my 2022 slate is still being considered. I will be announcing my decision before the end of September,” Benitez said.Several photos of Benitez along with his supposed slate have been circulating on social media recently.One post titled Team Benitez includes the photos of Kalaw Puentevella, Thaddy Sayson, Homer Bais, Patrick Lacson and Jason Villarosa.Another Team Benitez post also includes t...

Capitol photoThe Negros Occidental provincial government has rolled out about 22,000 Sinovac vaccines this week and has so far vaccinated about 12 percent of its target population, Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, provincial health officer, said Thursday, August 26.He said the rolled out vaccines are part of the 80,000 Sinovac doses that arrived in Negros Occidental this week.If all of the Sinovac vaccines are rolled out by next week, 340,000 anti-COVID jabs will have been administered in Negros Occidental, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.Diaz said their reaching their target number of Negrenses for vaccination will depend on the arrival of the vaccines from the national government.He said the Philippine National Police also sent COVID-19 vaccines for the policemen in...

Ronnie Baldonado photoThe Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations (CONFED) and Associated Planters of Silay-Saravia Inc. (APSSI ) on Thursday, August 26, called for the allocation of 100 percent of the country’s sugar production for the domestic or “B” market for crop year 2021-2022.The sugar industry needs to have an “All-B” domestic sugar allocation given that the production estimate of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) is projected at 2.099 million metric tons, CONFED president Raymond V. Montinola said.An anticipated second-year La Niña is shown as the reason for the low sugar production estimate, Montinola said.The CONFED position is based on the SRA production estimates considering a double La Niña where the recent rainfall forecast of PAGASA from August...

2D Echo test being conducted at the TLJPH*More services that would otherwise be too expensive for indigent patients if they had to go to private hospitals are now available at the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital (TLJPH) in Silay City, Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Thursday, August 26.The provincial government has purchased a multi-function machine for 2D Echo and ultrasound tests and vascular studies, Dr. Maryann Maestral, TLJPH chief, said.They also offer CT scan services, she said.If indigent patients are members of the Negros Occidental Comprehensive Health Program they can benefit from free services, she said.The hospital now has a C-Arm X-Ray Machine for its operating room, Diaz also said.The provincial government is c...

The number of dengue cases in Bacolod City has decreased by 36.4 percent, the latest report from the City Health Office (CHO) showed.From January 1 to August 7, Bacolod posted a total of 159 dengue cases – two of which led to death, Dr. Grace Tan, head of the CHO Environmental Sanitation Division, said Thursday, August 26.This figure is lower compared to the 250 cases recorded during the same period last year, the CHO added.Estefania has the highest number of dengue cases with 23; followed by Tangub with 16; Singcang-Airport and Villamonte, 14 each; Taculing and Mansilingan, 10 each; Barangay 35 and Pahanocoy, eight each; Alijis, five; and Bata, four.Meanwhile, six barangays were observed to have clustering of dengue cases in four weeks prior to August 7, the CHO noted....

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said that sugar tourism can be a sweet part of the country’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as in rebuilding a more resilient tourism industry.Puyat and Agriculture Secretary William Dar were the guest speakers at the virtual 67th PHILSUTECH (Philippine Sugar Technologists Association) Annual National Convention opening Wednesday afternoon, August 25.“Certainly there are many ways the sugar industry and the tourism industry can merge to create new offerings and revenue streams. Let us leverage our sugar-producing regions’ heritage and industrial capabilities to develop a strong sense of place, each with its own particular narrative and unique sites,” Puyat urged.The sugar industry can engage with the tourism industry, part...

The 45-year-old overseas Filipino worker (OFW) from Barangay Villamonte, Bacolod City, hit by the Delta variant and three members of his family tested negative for COVID-19 Wednesday, August 25, City Administrator Em Ang said.However, his 8-year-old son tested positive for COVID-19, Ang, who heads the Bacolod Emergency Operations Center (EOC), said.The OFW refused to be retested for COVID-19 on Tuesday but agreed to do so after the EOC, the police and barangay officials returned Wednesday.The OFW from Dubai, who had returned Bacolod Sunday after being hospitalized for 18 days in Manila, on Tuesday questioned why he had to be retested again, she said.The 6-month-old baby boy from Barangay Bata who tested positive for the Delta variant and his family tested negative for COVID...

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson with the Sangguniang Panlalawigan members.*Richard Malihan photoNegros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, who outlined the achievements of his administration in the past year, stressed that the new normal, although caused by an adversity, ”is a golden opportunity to change, to be better.”Lacson, in his State of the Province Address (SOPA) aired on the provincial government’s Facebook page Wednesday, August 25, said the difficulties amid the COVID-19 pandemic, is “an occasion to discover and show the world what we are capable of. Challenges have always been God's possibilities.”“We are facing crisis of a different magnitude than we had in the past, but we were able to prevail and so we will, again,” said Lacson, who delivered his SOPA before the Sanggu...