Carla P. Gomez

Fire razes 17 houses in Purok Riverside in Barangay Bata, Bacolod City, Friday morning, June 18.*Photo courtesy of Crispin ChuaFire destroyed 17 houses in densely populated Purok Riverside in Barangay Bata, Bacolod City, Friday morning, June 18.Bata Barangay Captain Angelito Abaring said “the fire destroyed 15 houses and two others that were not totally burned could no longer be used.”The houses made of light materials were built very close to each other, he said.Chief Inspector Rodel Legaspi, Bacolod Fire Marshall, said they initially counted 10 houses destroyed, estimated to cost P200,000.The 20 to 25-square meter houses were made of bamboo and nipa, he said.The fire started at about 10:58 a.m. and was put out at 11:24 a.m., Legaspi said.He said they were coor...

Barbara Mijares photoResorts and beaches in Bacolod City will be closed on the Feast of St. John the Baptist on June 24 to contain the spread of COVID-19, Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran said Friday, June 18.Familiaran said Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia is expected to issue an order for the one day closure soon.Leonardia said he, Familiaran and Emergency Operations Center officials are holding consultation meetings with owners of resorts, bars, restaurants and coffee shops in connection with the Feast of St. John the Baptist , which traditionally gathers big crowds.The city officials held a consultation meeting with the owners of such establishments in barangays Punta Taytay and Pahanocoy on Friday.Another meeting will be held with the Alangilan and Granada groups on Satu...

Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. issued Executive Order 175-A Friday, June 18, suspending the entry of non residents into Iloilo province until June 30 to prevent the surge in CVID-19 cases.Iloilo province is currently under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine.Defensor said only returning residents, Overseas Filipino Workers, Authorized Persons Outside of Residence, health and emergency frontline personnel, government officials, duly authorized humanitarian assistance actors, persons travelling for medical or humanitarian reasons will be allowed into the province.Also allowed into the province are persons going to and from the airport, public utility vehicle operators and persons crossing zones for work and business permitted in the zone of destination, or for activities authorized ...

The mass vaccination in Cadiz City on Friday.*There were 3,169 Negrenses who received Sinovac jabs on Friday.The mass vaccination schedule for Saturday, Monday and Tuesday.*The mass vaccination of Negrenses in towns and cities of Negros Occidental will continue next week, until all of the province’s Sinovac vaccines are used up, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Friday, June 18.The mass vaccination in the towns and cities will continue Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, Diaz said.A total of 5,605 Negrensese received Sinovac jabs on Thursday and Friday.On Friday, 3,792 doses were delivered to 21 towns and cities and 3,169 Negrenses were vaccinated, he said.On Thursday, 2,436 doses were administered in 13 LGUs, out of the 2,838 delivered.Diaz said 11,700 doses ...

The Bago City Agriculturist's Office and Human Resource Management Office have been closed for disinfection after two personnel tested positive for COVID-19, Mayor Nicholas Yulo said Friday, June 18.The city agriculturist and an employee at the HRMO tested positive for COVID-19, he said.Both offices will resume operations on Monday, June 21.Bago City had 141 COVID-19 active cases on Friday, the Provincial Incident Management Team reported.*

The Negros Occidental provincial government will begin the rollout 11,700 doses of Pfizer vaccines next week, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.The vaccines, which arrived Thursday, June 17, will be administered at the Negros Residences at Gatuslao Street in Bacolod City and the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City as the vaccination sites need to be near the -86°C freezers where they are being stored, he said.The provincial government has an -86°C freezer at the Provincial Health Office in Bacolod City and another one at the TLJPH, he said.A third freezer will be purchased for the Valladolid District Hospital where vaccines for southern Negros will be stored, Diaz said.The Pfizer vaccines will be administered on Negrenses who fall under the A1...

Mayor Ernesto Estrao has ordered the temporary closure of the Rural Health Unit and birthing center in Hinoba-an, Negros Occidental, after several of their personnel tested positive for COVID-19.The two facilities have been closed for disinfection and will reopen Monday, Estrao said Thursday, June 17.Seven out of 12 newly identified COVID-19 cases in Hinobaan are personnel of the RHU.The four others are family members who are considered close contacts and one Hinoba-an local government employee.Estrao said a medical technologist at the RHU was the first to test positive so the rest of the staff were swabbed for COVID-19 tests.The other RHU and birthing center personnel who tested positive are nurses and midwives, Estrao said.Contact tracing is underway and more test...

Contributed photoSenator Richard Gordon said the opening of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Silay City Branch in Negros Occidental will enable the PRC to make a difference in more people’s lives.Gordon, who was the virtual guest speaker at the inauguration and blessing of the PRC Silay City branch Thursday, June 17, said PRC saves lives and in the process changes minds.“We harness the power of humanity to see to it that we are always there when needed,” said Gordon, who is also PRC chairman and chief executive officer.The PRC Silay City Branch can grow into having its own blood bank and its own ambulances, he added.It is important to have a PRC branch in every city to have quick reaction forces when needed, Gordon said.He urged young people to join the PRC Youth beca...

Any laboratory that fails to report COVID-19 positive RT-PCR test results to the Bacolod Emergency Operations Center can face legal action, Dr. Chris Sorongon, EOC deputy for medical data and analysis, said Thursday, June 14.Failure to report is a violation of Republic Act No. 11332, or the mandatory reporting of notifiable diseases and health events of public health concern act, he said.All laboratories accredited by the Bacolod City government musts submit all RT-PCR test results of Bacolod residents every day, he said.Sorongon issued the warning, when asked about an alleged laboratory in Bacolod that was not submitting RT-PCR test results to the EOC.Mass vaccination against COVID-19 in Bacolod City is ongoing at the SMX Convention Center, Ayala Malls Capitol Central, and...