Carla P. Gomez

Capitol photoThe new Department of Health Western Visayas regional director has advised Negros Occidental and Bacolod City officials to be on alert and prepared for the COVID-19 Delta Variant.Dr. Adriano Subaan, DOH regional director, who met with Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson Wednesday, July 14, said it is inevitable that the Delta Variant will enter the country.“We have to prepare for that as far as our hospital service is concerned. So I think that’s quite alarming but we just have to be prepared for that situation,” Lacson said.Bacolod City Administrator Em Ang said Subaan informed them that the DOH is expecting that the Delta Variant could enter the country in about two months so the LGUs should prepare for it.“We have to learn to live with the pandemi...

The first vaccination card with QR card was issued to Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson.*The mass vaccination drive of Negros Occidental and Bacolod City against COVID-19 got a further boost Thursday, July 15, with the arrival of 62,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines and more expected this month.Negros Occidental also began its roll out of its COVID-19 vaccination cards with QR codes, with the first one issued to Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson.Actual cards will be issued but fully vaccinated individuals can also present electronic IDs for QR code scanning, Provincial Administrator Rayfrado Diaz said.Diaz said the names of 941 fully vaccinated individuals have been forwarded by the Provincial Health Office so far for the issuance of vaccination cards with QR codes.PIA...

There will be no voter registration at the Commission on Elections office in Bacolod City on Friday, July 16, to give way for a special registration of youth voters, Election Officer Kathrina Trinio Caña said Thursday, July 15.The special registration of youth voters will be held at the St. Joseph School - La Salle in Barangay Villamonte, Bacolod City, Friday, she said.This is an exclusive registration for the youth as requested by the Bacolod Youth Coalition for Democracy and the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation, no walk ins will be accepted, she said.Registration at the Bacolod Comelec office will resume on Monday, July 19, she added.Meanwhile, the hearings of protests against 242 persons who have registered to vote in Bacolod City, including former Rep. Alfredo Abelardo B...

Simplicio Palanca's contribution to the building of the Pope John Paul II Tower earned him a Papal Award from the Diocese of Bacolod.* Ronnie Baldonado photoBacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia has issued an executive order declaring Sunday, July 18, 2021, as “Atty. Simplicio A. Palanca Day” in Bacolod to bestow upon him the city’s “sincerest appreciation and profound gratitude.”Leonardia, in Executive Order No. 38, said the city recognizes the invaluable contribution and colossal impact of Palanca “to its economic landscape and for his fearless vision of a highly-developed and competitive city in the country.”Palanca, 98, passed away on July 10, and will be buried at his family’s mausoleum in Victorias City, Negros Occidental, on Sunday.Palanca, born on March 12, 1923, was an e...

A joint resolution recommending that Bacolod City and other local government units in Western Visayas be allowed to retain their current quarantine status until the end of July instead of being elevated to stricter classifications was sent to the National Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF) Wednesday, July 14.The Western Visayas Regional Inter-Agency Task Force (RIATF 6) and the Regional Task Force (RTF) Against COVID-19 held an emergency meeting with local chief executives of the provinces and highly urbanized cities where the resolution recommending a status quo was approved.The resolution was sent to Local Government Undersecretary Epimaco Densing who sits as head of the screening committee of the NIATF.Under the initial NIATF classification, only Guimaras and Negros Occidental ...

Marcus Aurelian Vaflor and Jose Jireh Alimon (l-r), lawyers of the complainants against Benitez, at a press conference Wednesday, July 14.*CPG photoPersons affiliated with Grupo Progreso filed their opposition to the applications of former Rep. Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez and 220 other persons to become registered voters of Bacolod claiming they are not residents of the city, their lawyer Marcus Aurelian Vaflor said Wednesday, July 14.Election Officer Kathrina Trinio Caña has directed Benitez and the 220 others to answer the opposition lodged against their applications for registration before a hearing set by the Election Registration Board in Bacolod City at 9 a.m. Monday, July 19.A disqualification of the registration of Benitez would prevent him from being able to run f...

The National Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (NIATF-EID) has recommended that Negros Occidental remains under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) from July 16 to 31.The Capitol will not appeal that recommendation, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Wednesday, July 14.“We have no other option but to comply with the resolution determined by the NIATF,” he said.“Fortunately for Negros Occidental our classification is still the same. Gov. Bong Lacson already issued an executive order that places the whole of Negros Occidental under GCQ in July so there is no need for a new EO,” he said.He said if Bacolod is escalated to Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine status it will cause a lot of setbacks economically and will disrupt ...

Western Visayas will receive one of the biggest shares of COVID-19 vaccines this July at 741,566 doses, Negros Occidental provincial administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Wednesday, July 14.The vaccines will be equitably distributed based on master listed A2 and A3 senior citizens and persons with comorbidities, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer of the National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19, informed Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, Diaz said.Sinovac, Johnson and Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines are expected to arrive, he said.There are also 62,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines arriving in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City on Thursday, Dr. Jane Juanico, head of the Infectious Disease Section of the Department of Health in WV, said.Negros Occidental will receive 40,8...