Carla P. Gomez

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia said today, January 25, that they are prepared to undergo COVID-19 vaccines, too.The two officials stated their willingness to be vaccinated amid fears from some sectors about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines.Lacson said he will volunteer to be vaccinated if it will help encourage Negrenses to agree to do so, too.Pope Francis, who has been vaccinated, said it is our moral duty to protect ourselves as we protect others, Lacson said.I’m willing to take the same vaccine the pope had and I think it was AstraZeneca,” Lacson said.The national government has assured that all COVID-19 vaccines to be used in the Philippines are safe, he said.Leonardia said he is okay to be vaccinated after h...

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei Nograles led the ceremonial turnover of 2,000 McDonald’s meals to Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia (3rd and 4th from left) as Michelle and Andrew Valencia of Bacolod CETUS Food Industries and Marie Angeles (left) look on.*City PIO photoSecretary Karlo Alexei Nograles, Zero Hunger Task Force head, stressed the need to address hunger that has worsened with the COVID-19 pandemic during the ceremonial turnover of 2,000 meals at the Bacolod City Government Center today, January 25.“COVID-19 destroyed the economy, jobs and raised the level of hunger,” Nograles said.Nograles and Marie Angeles, executive director of Ronald McDonald House Charities, turned over the cooked meals to Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia for 15 barangays, two charitable organizat...

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said he favors longer voting hours in the 2022 elections if the COVID-19 pandemic still remains a threat.The proposed longer voting hours is to allow physical distancing of voters to prevent the spread of the virus.It will be more expensive on the part of government but it will limit the number of voters at any given time, Lacson said.It will be better than voting by mail, he said, in reference to the recent elections in the United States.*

Philippine Genome CenterThe number of returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) in Negros Occidental to be tested for the new United Kingdom COVID-19 variant have increased to four, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said today, January 24.Reports from the United Kingdom indicate that the new variant may not only spread COVID-19 faster, there is a possibility that it has a higher death rate."There is some evidence that the new variant … may be associated with a higher degree of mortality" but the data is not conclusive, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was quoted by the international media as saying.Diaz said the samples of a couple from Pontevedra who returned from London, a Talisay City teacher from US Virgin Islands, and a Bago City resident from Egypt will be sent to the ...

Negros Occidental is still not open to tourists from other parts of the country and the world, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said today, January 24.“Our agreement with the mayors is that Negros Occidental will remain closed to incoming tourists. We cannot preempt the COVID-19 vaccines, there is no sense of security yet, we have to wait for the vaccines,” he said.Negros Occidental’s borders remain closed, except for locally stranded individuals (LSI), returning overseas Filipinos (ROF), and Authorized Persons Outside Residence (APOR), he said.While local tourism is allowed, the provincial government is still not encouraging it, Diaz also said.In fact, the provincial government’s Mambukal Resort in Murcia town will remain closed, he said.We met with representati...

Fisherman Regino Elquiro carries marine plywood that was among the materials provided by NVC for the repair of his boat.*The Negrense Volunteers for Change has restored the means of livelihood of 17 fishermen in Victorias City, Negros Occidental.NVC provided the materials for the repair of 17 fishermen’s boats damaged by debris and floodwaters early this month, NVC president Millie Kilayko said today, January 24.“Thank you to all of you who gave us provision for this project. You know who you are, and you are part of this miracle, too”, she said.NVC previously also provided 4,982 boats to fishermen in various parts of the country who lost their fishing vessels to natural disasters, especially during super typhoon Yolanda in 2013.NVC is also providing materials to eight ...

Persons aged 10 to 65 can go out of their homes starting February 1 in areas that are under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque announced today, January 22.Negros Occidental and Bacolod City are currently under MGCQ and may remain under the same quarantine status in February.Bacolod vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran said the city government will comply with the new guidelines but reiterated the need to strictly observe minimum health protocols.Some children have been seen outside their home without face masks and shields, he said, stressing that their parents should ensure that they observe the COVID-19 health protocols for their own safety and to prevent the spread of the virus.Minors who go to public places, like malls, should be ac...

Capitol photoBacolod City and Negros Occidental have the lowest number of drug cleared barangays in Western Visayas, and a Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency official said they are stepping up efforts to address the problem amid concern raised by Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson.Director II Donelyn Hemedez, PDEA Western Visayas assistant regional director, told the participants of a Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Summit at the Negros Residences in Bacolod City today, January 22, that 80.30 percent of the barangays in Region 6 were cleared from drugs in 2020.However, only 12 of the 61 barangays in Bacolod City or 19.67 percent have been cleared, she said.In Negros Occidental, 222 of its 601 barangays have been cleared of drugs or only 36.94 percent, she added.The governor said he ca...

The Department of the Interior and Local Government expects city and municipal governments to complete road clearing activities before February 16, Roselyn Quintana, DILG Negros Occidental OIC provincial director, said today, January 22.“Since the validation will start February 16, which was an extension already, we expect LGUs (local government units) to have conducted clearing activities before that date,” she said.She said the DILG is conducting continuous monitoring of the ongoing road clearing operations.The DILG had extended the deadline to clear roads across the country of obstructions, following the request of local governments.LGU officials said road clearing work had been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had been their priority concern.*

The decision of Vallacar Transit Inc. to reduce by 50 percent the tripping allowance of its Ceres Liner drivers and conductors starting this month was made in consultation with their union leaders, a VTI statement said today, January 22.“This tripping allowance was given unilaterally last year as an act of generosity by the management,” VTI said, in response to a strike staged by some Ceres Liner drivers and conductors in Victorias City, Negros Occidental, Thursday, January 21.“While some factions of the Victorias drivers and conductors may not like the decision, most of the company drivers and conductors understand that, as members of one family, they need to do whatever they can” to help keep the company afloat, the statement said.During a labor-management meeting, they were ...