Carla P. Gomez

Iloilo City LGU photoThe governors of Western Visayas are expected to ink advance purchase agreements for Novavax vaccines this week, former Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said today, January 17.A presentation of the vaccines was made at a Zoom meeting attended by the WV governors today, January 17, to discuss the tripartite agreements on the advance purchase also attended by Secretary Carlito Galvez, the country’s COVID-19 vaccine czar, and Benitez, Negros Occidental’s economic consultant.The tripartite agreements are being arranged to get the best prices for vaccines and more supply, Galvez said.The tripartite agreements will be with the vaccine manufacturer, national government, the local government units (LGUs), and the private sector.The private sector can join the ...

Mayor Evelio Leonardia said Bacolod City will allocate P3.5 million to assist three cities and one town in the third district of Negros Occidental recently hit by floods that affected thousands of residents.Bacolod will allocate P1 million each for the cities of Talisay, Silay, and Victorias, and P500,000 for the municipality of E. B. Magalona, he said.“I commend the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, in a meeting presided over by Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran and Executive Assistant Joemarie Vargas, for the quick response and approval of my request for assistance to our neighbors who recently experienced heavy flooding,” he said.The P3.5 million allocation will be submitted to the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod for ratification, he said.Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Be...

The Army in central Negros had four separate armed skirmishes with New People’s Army rebels in the upland barangays of Sandayao and Trinidad in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental, Saturday, January 16, and pursuit operations are still ongoing today, January 17, Maj. Cenon Pancito, 3rd Infantry Division spokesperson, said.The first encounter between 62IB soldiers and 20 suspected NPA rebels took place at the boundary of Sitios Punong and Batong Buang in Brgy. Trinidad, at about 1 p.m., and was followed by another one between 62IB soldiers and the rebels at Sitio Batong-Buang, Barangay Sandayao, at 1:20 p.m., Pancito said.At 1:40 p.m. another unit of the 62ndIB encountered 20 NPA rebels in Sitio Batong-Buang, Barngay Sandayao, and fourth encounter at 4:30 pm., he added.“Our troops ...

The Bureau of Internal Revenue offices in Bacolod City will be closed tomorrow, January 18, BIR Revenue Region No. 12 Regional Director Antonio Jonathan Jaminola said in an advisory today, January 17.The BIR Regional and RDO 77 Bacolod offices will be temporarily closed for thorough disinfection by the Bacolod City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, he said.Regular office operations will resume on Tuesday, January 19, Jaminola said.A BIR source said it was just for regular disinfection when asked if they had been compromised by a person who tested positive for COVID-19.*

The governors of Western Visayas will sign a vaccination plan with the national government led by Secretary Carlito Galvez and COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers on Sunday, former Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, Negros Occidental economic consultant, said today, January 15.“As one region we will be signifying how many doses we will need…and do a symbolic signing,” Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson also said.Lacson pointed out that Galvez, the COVID-19 vaccine czar, earlier informed the governors that the national government will fund the vaccines for 70 percent of the country’s population“We will signify that Negros Occidental will need 3 million doses that are roughly 70 percent of the population or about 1.5 million individuals,” he said.The 3 million doses are estima...

Victorias City Mayor Francis Palanca, former Rep. Alfredo Benitez and Rep. Francisco Benitez (l-r) discussing flood mitigation measures for the locality.*The Negros Occidental provincial government amphibious excavator in Victorias City.Stepped up clearing of clogged waterways is underway in the third district of Negros Occidental as an immediate solution to the flooding in the area, former Rep. Alfredo Benitez, provincial consultant on economic affairs, said today, January 15.Benitez said the provincial government has sent an amphibious excavator to augment the work of a Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) dredger in Victorias City.The DPWH is also sending another amphibious excavator to the third district, he added.The provincial government also has an amphibio...

Negros Occidental has dropped from 6th to 7th place among the richest provinces in the country.“I’m not so well versed on how it is being computed and what implications it will have on the province if its ranking has gone down,” Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said today, January 15.He noted that the province is in 7th place among 81 provinces in the country.The COA placed Cebu province in first place with P203.9 billion in total assets, followed by Batangas with P20.793 billion, Rizal - P20.275 billion, Davao De Oro -P20.09 billion, Bukidnon -P18.2 billion, Surigao Del Norte - P16.6 billion, Negros Occidental - P15.9 billion, Leyte - P13.5 billion, Palawan - P13.036 billion, and Iloilo P13.034 billion.Meanwhile, Lacson said he is in favor of Charter Change now as long as it is li...

Former Negros Occidental rep. Alfredo Abelardo "Albee" Benitez today, January 15, denied speculation that he will run for governor of Negros Occidental in 2022.“If I was running for governor, I should have done it last election,” he said.He, however, would not comment on other positions he is considering for 2022.Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson also denied that he is leaving Love Negros and joining the United Negros Alliance (UNegA) amid talk that Benitez would run for governor.Love Negros is honoring its coalition with UNegA, Lacson said.Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer, UNegA president, said earlier that his group is also honoring the coalition and it will remain a Lacson-Ferrer ticket for the top posts of the province in 2022.*

Florentino Granada (left) was replaced by Raymond Villanueva as DFA Negros head this week.The public has been experiencing difficulty in making passport online appointments at the Department of Foreign Affairs website.That is because the DFA Passport Online Appointment System (passport.gov.ph) is undergoing a technical upgrade, Raymond Villanueva, DFA Negros acting officer-in-charge said.Villanueva this week took over from DFA Negros chief Florentino Granada who has been reassigned to a post in Nigeria.The DFA recently opened more appointment slots for passport appointments, it may have caused an overload in the online system that is currently being addressed, he said.The appointment slots had previously been limited because of the COVID-19 pandemic.Villanueva said ...