Carla P. Gomez

Bacolod City government’s five-day mass vaccination drive against COVID-19 at SM City will be suspended Friday, May 7, because of crowd control problems, City Administrator Em Ang said Thursday.“We will reassess our protocols and procedures so we can implement a more orderly and safer flow of vaccination,” she said.Ang said they cater to persons who have registered and are notified to go to the vaccination site. Those notified by the city data officer are 200 per day but they have been getting walk ins who refuse to leave, she said.About 1,670 health care workers, senior citizens and persons with comorbidities were vaccinated from Monday to Thursday, she said.On Monday, they vaccinated 291, Tuesday – 433, Wednesday – 466 and on Thursday more than 480, Ang said.The mass ...

Bacolod DRRM photoGov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said the provincial government on Thursday, May 6, began denying S-PaSS applications of travelers seeking permission to enter Negros Occidental towns and cities whose quarantine facilities are full.Lacson said the provincial government will not ask for a moratorium on travel to Negros Occidental amid the surge in COVID-19 cases as there are some local government units (LGUs) that are still okay.However, they will deny entry of travelers into areas, especially with triple-digit COVID-19 cases, whose quarantine facilities are full, he said.Negros Occidental on Wednesday had 2,565 active COVID-19 cases. The province also had 209 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the Department of Health reported.“Everyday we are creating a new recor...

Bacolod PIO photoMayor Evelio Leonardia is requesting the national government to allocate more vaccines against COVID-19 for Bacolod City amid the continued spike in local cases.“We are being hit hard by this new wave of COVID-19 infections. Ramping up our vaccination program will be critical to saving lives and restoring economic activity in our city", Leonardia said in a letter dated May 5 to Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer of the National Task Force for COVID-19.Galvez early this week said the government might have to prioritize the inoculation of residents in Metro Manila and other key areas of the country hardest hit by the pandemic, including Bacolod City.The Department of Health has classified Bacolod City as a high risk area for COVID-19.Bacolod ...

Engels Escultor photoThe emergency room and obstetrics department of the Vicente Gustilo District Hospital in Escalante City, Negros Occidental, have temporarily been closed for disinfection.They will be reopened when the COVID-19 tests results of their five nurses and doctor who were exposed to a coronavirus-positive patient are released, Vermont Juvahib, head of the Escalante City Hospital Management Department, said Thursday, May 6.On Tuesday, a patient needing an emergency cesarean operation underwent a rapid test for COVID-19 and tested negative, he said.After the operation the patient was again swabbed for an RT-PCR test and tested positive for COVID-19, he added.The patient and her child have been transferred to the Cadiz District Hospital that is a COVID-19 desi...

There are now 90 COVID-19 positive Bacolod policemen in quarantine, PLt. Ma. Liberty Indiape, Bacolod police spokesperson said Thursday, May 6.She said two more policemen tested positive, while four have recovered.The Bacolod City Police Office headquarters and all of its 10 police stations have had COVID-hit personnel, she said.The Negros Occidental Provincial Police Office headquarters and police stations also have 33 COVID-19 positive policemen, NOCPPO spokesperson Lt. Abegael Donasco said.*

The Victorias City Hall will reopen on Monday with 50 percent of its workforce, Mayor Francis Frederick Palanca said Thursday, May 6.Senior citizens will be allowed to work from home, he said.Palanca had ordered the temporary closure of the city hall this week after 21 of the city government employees tested positive for the virus.One more city government employee has tested positive for the virus bringing the total to 22, he said.The active COVID-19 cases in Victorias City were 101 on Thursday, he added.The Victorias City Resort and Gawahon Eco Park have temporarily been close following the spike in COVID-19 cases.*

Capitol file photoThe number of occupants at quarantine facilities in Negros Occidental are hitting critical levels with the daily triple-digit rise in COVID-19 cases, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Wednesday, May 5.The COVID-19 positive cases in the province in April were more than 4,000, the highest since the pandemic started in March last year, he said.Negros Occidental also had 2,565 active COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the Provincial Incident Management Team reported.“It’s a record high already, it is way above last year’s figures. It is something to be worried about…obviously the vaccines would really be the solution but unfortunately our country is not receiving enough for a speedier rollout,” Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said.In fact n...

The Negros Occidental Procurement Services Depot that is believed to be the main source of the COVID-19 spread among the provincial government employees has been closed, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Wednesday, May 5.A legislative assistant at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan tested positive Wednesday bringing the number of provincial government employees hit by the virus to 32, Diaz said.Ten of the 15 PSD employees tested positive for COVID-19, he said.The five PSD employees who tested negative have been assigned to other tasks. The depot will be reopened when all of its ten other employees, who are now at the Mambukal Resort in Murcia, have recovered, he added.The PSD personnel are the ones who distribute the provincial government’s supplies from the Department...

The Bureau of Internal Revenue’s estimated value of the fake tax stamps seized at a warehouse in Barangay Tangub, Bacolod City, increased to P750 million on Wednesday, May 5.BIR Region 12 Director Antonio Jonathan Jaminola said they seized 30 packs estimated to contain 500,000 fake stamps each, fake cigarettes and materials for their manufacture from the warehouse on Tuesday.The estimated value of the fake stamps increased to P750 million because they now cost P50 each, he said.The initial estimate of more than P500 million was based on the previous stamp rate of P37.50 each, he said.The cost of the stamp attached to each cigarette pack represents the excise tax paid to the government, Jaminola explained.The BIR swooped down on the warehouse based on a confidential tip ...

Mayor Jilson Tubillara said Wednesday, May 5, that the cockfights held at the San Enrique cockpit are legal because they are part of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation’s online sabong or e-sabong.There are no crowds, the people allowed in the cockpit are limited and the llamador or bet manager is not allowed to shout, he said.The fights are beamed online and bets are made electronically, Tubillara said.Tubillara made the clarification after a DIGICAST NEGROS follower sent a video showing cars parked in front of the San Enrique cockpit for an alleged cockfight.Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson has ordered a ban on cockfights in Negros Occidental after numerous persons who had gone to cockpits tested positive for COVID-19 and infected other residents in their communities....