Carla P. Gomez

Travel from Negros Island to the Dumangas Port in Iloilo province and vice versa has also been suspended from May 25 to 31.The Regional Inter-Agency Task Force and the Regional Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases said the suspension was pronounced by Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año in a meeting with the local chief executives of Western Visayas on Monday, May 24.Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor said he sought the week-long suspension of travel between Negros and his province in support of the move of Iloilo City to contain the spread of COVID-19.Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas on Sunday ordered the temporary suspension of inbound and outbound travel between Negros Island and his city from 12 a.m. Tuesday, May 25, to 11:59 p.m. of May 31.Iloilo Cit...

Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo and two councilors tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of President Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to Dumaguete City Monday afternoon, May 24.Remollo, in a statement, said he underwent an RT-PCR test as a requirement for attendance at the National Peace and Order Council meeting hosted by Dumaguete City Monday, which was presided by President Rodrigo Duterte.“I remain asymptomatic and have isolated myself,” Remollo said.“Regular functions of government will continue in my physical absence as I will still be working while in isolation. I will also be continually abreast of the daily affairs of the city,” he added.“COVID-19 is by far the most treacherous of all viruses. It unwittingly strikes when one is in the company of friends, family and co-workers,” ...

Glenda Hilado, Yvonne Buscado and Flaviana dela Guizon helping a Bacolod resident give birth at the ETCS 4 quarantine.A 36-year-old Bacolod resident waiting for her COVID-19 test results gave birth while in quarantine at the Education and Training Center School 4 in Bacolod City Tuesday, May 24, Councilor Cindy Rojas said.She said three of her staff assigned at the ETCS 4 quarantine facility stepped up and managed to help the woman give birth since she went into labor before they could rush her to a hospital.“It was miraculous because Glenda (Hilado), Yvonne (Buscado) and Flaviana (dela Guizon) have had no medical training whatsoever, but they managed to bring into this world baby Gabriel. God certainly worked wonders in guiding the hands of these women to be instrumental in ...

Two wards at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City have reached their maximum capacity for COVID-19 allocated beds, Dr. Julius Drilon, CLMMRH chief, said Tuesday, May 25.The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit will limit admission to extreme emergency cases only until further notice, he said.The rest of the departments at the hospital are also reaching maximum capacity, he said.He said 23 CLMMRH personnel are currently COVID-19 positive.The hospital also has 61 COVID-19 patients, six of whom are in the intensive care unit, he said.There are also 21 other patients waiting for their COVID-19 test results, he added.The hospital has collaborated and established communication with the Negros Occ...

There are only 13 of the 52 Negros Occidental provincial government employees who tested positive for COVID-19 since April who remain in quarantine at the Mambukal Resort in Murcia.Thirty-nine have recovered and returned to work, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Tuesday, May 25.Among those still in quarantine is Board Member Manuel Frederick Ko who tested positive for COVID-19 for a second time.Diaz said aside from the mass vaccination of provincial government employees against COVID-19, several other measures have been taken at the Capitol to prevent the spread of the virus.Open air thinking spaces for provincial government employee on the roof decks of the Capitol are also being created, he added.Quarantine facilities in Negros Occidental are no longer ful...

Officials of the Negros Occidental provincial government and a private firm running the Negros First CyberCentre (NFCC) in Bacolod City are set to sign a mutual termination agreement at virtual rites Thursday, May 27.This will allow the provincial government to take over the management of the NFCC from the Negros Property Management and Development Corp. (NPMDC) by June 30 or earlier, he said.The move is aimed at enabling the provincial government to earn more from the NFCC under the operation of its Economic Enterprise Development Department than what the NPMDC has been paying, Diaz said.This will enable the provincial government to pay its bank loan for the construction of the NFCC from its own earnings, he said.The provincial government granted the request of NMPDC to re...

The Negros Occidental Tourism Office and Mambukal Resort Office at the Capitol Park* Barbara Mijares photoThe Negros Culture Hub walking tour of tourist attractions around the provincial Capitol area in Bacolod City will be launched Saturday, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Tuesday, May 25The Negros Occidental Tourism Office, Mambukal Resort Office and CAFEtolyo at the Capitol Park, the Association of Negros Producers (ANP) Showroom at the South Capitol Road, and the Pala-Pala at the North Capitol Road will also be blessed.Tourists can register at the Provincial Tourism Office for the walking tour that will include a stop at the Mambukal Office, tasting of a native delicacy, taking selfies in front of the Capitol, feeding an endangered specie at the Talarak Found...

The road clearing in Campuestohan, Talisay City.*Rhoderick Samonte photoMayor Neil Lizares has asked a Bacolod contractor to temporarily suspend road clearing work in Sitio Campuestohan, Talisay City, within the Northern Negros Natural Park (NNNP).Lizares in a letter to Jerry Sy Monday, May 24, said while the Talisay City government “was not party to your special use agreement in protected area application, this matter concerns us since the area is under our jurisdiction.”The mayor asked Sy to temporarily suspend his activities in the area until they can come to an environmentally favorable agreement in a meeting to discuss the matter.“The City of Talisay has always been passionate in its pursuit to conserve, manage and protect its environment and natural resources for the ...

The Department of Health on Monday, May 24, raised the COVID-19 risk category of Bacolod City from low to moderate.While Negros Occidental remains a low risk area, Dr. Marie Jocelyn Te of the Department of Health reported in an online briefing on the COVID situation in Western Visayas.She said the average COVID-19 daily attack rate in Bacolod City from May 10 to 23 was 9.30 percent, while Negros Occidental’s was at 2.65 percent.Classified as high risk COVID-19 areas are Iloilo City and Guimaras.Aklan and Iloilo province are moderate risk areas, while Antique and Capiz are low risk areas.There is a slow decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases in Western Visayas, Te said.The positivity rate continues to increase that may indicate increased transmission of the COVID-1...

Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor said he is also seeking a week-long suspension of travel between Negros and his province in support of the move of Iloilo City to contain the spread of COVID-19.His request for the suspension of travel from Negros to the Dumangas port in Iloilo province is pending before the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Defensor said.Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas on Sunday ordered the temporary suspension of inbound and outbound travel between Negros Island and his city from 12 a.m. Tuesday, May 25, to 11:59 p.m. of May 31.Iloilo City is currently under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in the area.Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia on Monday also issued Executive Order No. 27 ...