Carla P. Gomez

Riverside Medical Center Inc. (RMCI) announced that it can no longer accept high risk Obstetrics-Gynecology patients and those with COVID-19 or coronavirus-like symptoms effective Sunday, June 13.This is based on the functional capacity of the COVID-19 designated facility of the hospital, it said in a public advisory.Such patients are advised to seek admission in an alternate healthcare facility, it said.The non-Covid and ancillary areas of RMCI continue to accommodate both outpatient services and patient admissions, it added.The Medical Arts Building also remains open for scheduled consultations with doctors, the advisory said.“We will issue an advisory as soon as there is a change in our current situation,” it said.*

Bacolod PIO photoNegros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia called on the public to join forces in the battle to regain freedom from COVID-19 as the Philippines marked its 123rd Independence Day on Saturday, June 12.“The independence gained in 1898 and the fight we had to take to redeem our freedom in 1946 proved that of all the endowments we have as a people, our independence is among the most costly and the most demanding of all," Lacson said.“As we commemorate this second Independence Day amid a pandemic, we as a people are given an exceptional opportunity to honor the independence won a century and decades ago by taking part in this battle against an enemy that threatens not just our country, but the entire humanity,” he said.He said I...

The Negros Occidental governor’s office at the Capitol in Bacolod City will reopen Monday, June 14, after the rest of its staff tested negative for COVID-19, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Sunday, June 13.The office was closed late last week for disinfection after two employees in-charge of attending to indigent patients tested positive.Meanwhile, Mayor Neil Lizares ordered the closure of the City Mayor's Office and the Executive Assistants Office staring Monday June 14, until further notice to give way to a thorough disinfection of the premises and contact tracing of COVID-19 affected individuals.Business will proceed as usual once disinfection and contact tracing are done and the results of the swab tests of employees who had close contact with infected individu...

The ”Negrosan Youth for Ping Lacson” urged the senator to run for president in 2022 at a press conference in Bacolod City on Saturday, June 12.Romeo Castillo Jr., co-convenor, said their members come from different youth groups in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City.The group said “with the strongly-worded statements of Sen. Ping Lacson urging the current administration to stand against the bullying by China, and the massive corruption despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are one with him in calling for more public vigilance”.They are appealing to Lacson not to retire, and to carry on his advocacies by running for president, Castillo said.“We believe Senator Ping Lacson carries the cry of every Filipino,” the group said.“Please continue to safeguard the Philippine n...

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson (center) meeting with the mayors via Zoom Friday, June 11.*Richard Malihan photoGov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said he is issuing an executive order Monday imposing more stringent measures to curb the surge in COVID-19 cases in Negros Occidental.Lacson met with the Negros Occidental mayors Friday, June 11, to discuss the call of the medical community for immediate action versus the COVID-19 surge before it is too late.The mayors agreed to strengthen border control between Negros Occidental and Oriental to prevent the entry of non essential travelers, but travel between Panay and Negros will be allowed, Lacson said.The EO will also require persons 18 years and below to stay home, he said.They will also call on residents to continue observing health pro...

There are 31 COVID-19 positive inmates at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) isolation facility in Barangay Handumanan, Bacolod City, Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran said Friday, June 11.However, he stressed that not all of them are Bacolod residents, many of them come from BJMP facilities in various parts of Negros Occidental.Jail Inspector Jude Ledesma, representative of the BJMP Negros Occidental, said that of the 31 cases, 9 are from Bacolod and 22 are from other towns and cities.The Emergency Operations Center-Task Force (EOC-TF) invited officials of the BJMP to join the EOC huddle Friday because of the increasing COVID-19 transmission among PDLs (persons deprived of liberty) in various BJMP facilities.The EOC has urged the BJMP to have the PDLs tested for ...

The Philippine Councilors League of Negros Occidental has issued a manifesto urging former Rep. Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez to run for mayor of Bacolod City in 2022.“Should you decide to take up this challenge, we pledge our unending support to you and the principles and values for which you stand, that will surely propel Bacolod to greater heights,” the manifesto said.PLC Negros Occidental president Ryan Gamboa said they submitted the manifesto Benitez Friday, June 11.Though it is an economically independent and highly urbanized city, Bacolod is still an integral part of Negros Occidental and should synergize its vision with that of the rest of Negros Occidental, the manifesto said.Bacolod City connects the north to the south. It is the center of commerce and trade. It is...

A flaming stone fell from the sky and a loud explosion was heard as it landed at the Negros Occidental High School campus in Bacolod City, NOHS principal Mario Amaca said Friday, June 11.Amaca said the fireball turned out to be a shiny black stone that is about two and a half inches thick and three inches long. “It is almost as big as my fist and looks like a meteorite,” he said.“It is very hard, if you try scratch it with a sharp object it turns white and goes back to its original color,” he added.The “space stone” fell near the guards’ barracks at the NOHS campus at about 4 p.m. June 4, Amaca said.The stone was found by the wife of an NOHS guard but we all heard the explosion from a distance when it landed, Amaca said.Janette Sarcillo said she saw a burning object fal...

San Carlos LGU photoSan Carlos City Mayor Renato Gustilo has tested positive for COVID-19.He no longer has fever and his quarantine will end on Tuesday next week, Gustilo said Friday, June 11.Gustilo said he is on home quarantine, along with his family and staff who all tested negative.The mayor said he may have picked up the virus from his bodyguard who tested positive for COVID-19.The bodyguard did not inform him that he was not feeling well and reported for work. They rode in the same vehicle everyday, Gustilo said.The COVID-19 cases in San Carlos City dropped from triple-digit figures in previous weeks to 37 on Thursday.There have been 1,721 COVID-19 cases in San Carlos City with 68 deaths and 1,616 recoveries.*

The Bacolod City government does not charge any fee for the conduct of mass vaccinations in subdivisions or in any other areas, City Administrator Em Ang said Friday, May 11.Ang, Bacolod Emergency Operations Center executive director, said if anyone is collecting a fee the person should be reported to her office so that action can be taken.Ang was responding to an allegation that a donation was being sought for the mass vaccination in a Bacolod subdivision this Sunday. The vaccination in the subdivision was supposed to be for 400 people but when the person asking for the donation was told that only P30,000 could be given they were told only 250 people could be covered, it was alleged.Mass vaccinations scheduled at subdivisions are for free, all they ask for from the homeowners’...