Carla P. Gomez

Negros Occidental and Bacolod City officials cited President Rodrigo Duterte for an extraordinary presidency amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and gave him a 7 to 8 rating as he outlined his achievements in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 26.Duterte, in his nearly three-hour speech before the joint Houses of Congress, said he does not consider his sixth and last SONA his “swan song” as he has less than a year left to continue providing Filipinos with his promise of a comfortable life amid the prevailing pandemic.Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said he would give the Duterte presidency a rating of eight, on a scale of one to ten.He pointed out that it has been very difficult for the country’s economy with the COVID-19 pandemic.Lacson said 2019 was...

Huge crowds, many defying health protocols, trooped to Bacolod City malls Monday, July 26, for COVID-19 jabs in what was described as a “recipe for disaster.”The majority did not observe physical distancing and some were seen without face shields or with their face masks down.The buildup of crowds was noted since late last week following an announcement by the city government Thursday, July 22, that walk-in vaccinees would be allowed.City Administrator Em Ang, Emergency Operations Center executive director, announced by midday Monday that the vaccination centers at Ayala Malls Capitol Central, Robinsons Place, and SMX Convention Center had reached their maximum number of vaccinees for the day.Beginning Tuesday, July 27, “we regret that we will not be able to cater to walk-i...

Bayan Negros photoAs the president addresses the nation, they said they will combat all the “lies” that come out of his mouth by forwarding the true state of the nation through the lens of the broad masses.“Under Duterte’s watch, Negros Island has become a killing field and a lab rat for this administration’s whole-of-nation approach to counterinsurgency,” they said.The intense militarization brought about by Memorandum Order 32 has increased the cases of harassment and killings, especially among the peasantry, they said.“In Negros, red-tagging is not merely a veiled threat but a death sentence,” they added.Among those activists killed under this regime are Zara Alvarez, Alexander Ceballos, Toto Patigas, and lawyer Ben Ramos. Numerous others have also been illegally det...

The camps of three possible 2022 presidential candidates have sent feelers for talks with the United Negros Alliance, UNegA secretary general Salvador Escalante said Monday, July 26.He said they received feelers from the camps of Senator Panfilo Lacson, Senator Manny Pacquiao and Davao Mayor Sara Duterte.UNA, is a local party composed of almost half of the elected officials of Negros Occidental, that is currently in an alliance with Love Negros headed by Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and former Rep. Alfredo Benitez.“We will see what will happen, nothing is final,” Escalante said.Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer and Sagay Mayor Alfredo Marañon III, UNEGA president and chairman respectively, have called for a meeting of party members in the second week of August to discuss 2022 concer...

Former Rep. Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez said Monday, July 26, that he is confident that the Election Registration Board will dismiss the opposition to his registration to vote in Bacolod City.“I expect the decision within the week, with the evidence we have presented I am very confident it (the opposition) will not progress,” he said.Three oppositors aligned with Mayor Evelio Leonardia’s Grupo Progreso have claimed that Benitez is not a resident of his family’s compound at Mountain View Subdivision in Bacolod City.Benitez, who has announced that he is running for mayor of Bacolod in 2022, disputed the claims of the oppositors and their witnesses saying they are not even residents of Mountain View Subdivision.Benitez said he does not have a slate yet for his Bacolod Cit...

City PIO photoMayor Evelo Leonardia on Monday, July 26, thanked President Rodrigo Duterte for ordering the National Inter-Agency Task Force to allocate more vaccines to combat COVID-19 in Bacolod City.The president in a meeting with several Cabinet members, including his economic managers and medical experts to discuss the COVID-19 situation in the country, said many local government units are desperately asking for additional vaccines.There is a strong upsurge of COVID-19 cases in places like Iloilo, Bacolod, Cagayan and Agusan, the president said.The mayor of Bacolod is asking for more vaccines, Duterte told the NIATF.The Department of Health on Monday noted a slow decline in COVID-19 cases in Western Visayas.It said Bacolod City remains a moderate risk area for C...

Bacolod City and Negros Occidental officials are hoping President Rodrigo Duterte outlines concrete plans versus COVID-19 and for the economy in his sixth and final State of the Nation Address (SONA) Monday, July 26.The president is scheduled to deliver his annual speech before both houses of Congress at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City at 4 p.m., Malacañang announced.Bacolod Rep. Greg Gasataya said he hopes the President provides not just updates, but concrete plans of action versus the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in terms of vaccine rollout and utilization of the Bayanihan funds.“The sooner we recover from or mitigate the health impacts of COVID-19, the sooner we will be able to act to help our brethren who have lost loved ones and sources of income in the past year,” G...

Mass vaccination against COVID-19 was held at the Bacolod Hall of Justice Saturday.*Bacolod PIO photoBacolod City officials expect huge turnouts again at vaccination centers starting Monday, July 26.That is because aside from the rollout of 20,000 Sinovac vaccines for second doses, the city government will also continue to inoculate Bacolodnons with about 20,000 AstraZeneca doses and with what is left of its 30,000 Johnson and Johnson doses, City Administrator Em Ang said Sunday, July 25.On Saturday, about 300 personnel of the Supreme Court, Department of Justice, Land Transportation Office and Department of Labor and Employment, and members of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines received their COVID-19 jabs at the Bacolod Hall of Justice, Executive Judge Raymond Joseph Javie...