Carla P. Gomez

The LSIs who arrived at the BREDCO port in Bacolod City today, January 3.*PIMT photoThe number of active COVID-19 cases in Negros Occidental are 288 and 76 in Bacolod City today (January 3) but the number may increase with the holiday moratoriums on the return of Locally Stranded Individuals (LSIs) in most cities and towns in the province having ended.Today, January 3, there is only one new COVID-19 case in Negros Occidental and three in Bacolod City, the Department of Health reported.A Provincial Incident Management Team report as of Saturday, January 2, showed that five towns in Negros Occidental – Candoni, Salvador Benedicto, EB Magalona, Ilog, and Pulupandan have no active COVID-19 cases.San Carlos City had the most number of active cases in Negros Occidental as of Satu...

Mayor Francis Palanca has sought the help of President Rodrigo Duterte for the dredging of the Malihao River to help mitigate flooding in Victorias City.Palanca said he sought P400 million in assistance for the Malihao River rehabilitation from the president through Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque.Roque informed him that the project has been endorsed to the Department of Public Works and Highways.The DPWH has asked him for details so a special allotment release order can be issued, Palanca said.Palanca said he will also meet with Civil Defense Office officials today to discuss plans to address the flooding problem in Victorias.“We will ask for their technical assistance because this is more than what my engineering office can handle,” he said.The flooding that hi...

The houses destroyed and damaged by the flood that hit Talisay on Jan. 1.*City CSWDO photosThe floods that hit three cities and one town in the third district of Negros Occidental in the early hours of Friday, the first day of 2021, left 76 houses destroyed and 539 damaged, updated reports showed today, January 3.The floods caused by runoff water brought on by heavy rains hit Victorias, Talisay, and Silay cities, and EB Magalona town affecting 15,933 families.Mayor Francis Palanca said 38 houses were destroyed and 111 were damaged in Victorias City.Ramil Panes, 26, who was reported missing since New Year’s Eve after a drinking spree with friends was found dead in the shoreline of Barangay 6-A in Victorias City on Saturday, Palanca also said.Damage to livestock and crops...

Rescuers recover Justine de Leon in the waters of Hinoba-an* Hinoba-an PNP photoTwo persons drowned and five others were rescued in southern Negros Occidental on New Year’s Day.The fatalities were identified as Justine Alostor de Leon, 8, and Junjun Solomon, 22, Commander Ludovico Librillia, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Negros Occidental chief, said today, January 2.De Leon and his three siblings were walking along the beach in Barangay Asia, Hinoba-an, at about 7 a.m. of January 1 when their father, Benjie de Leon, noticed that they had gone into the water, Maj. Clifford Batadhay, Hinoba-an police chief, said.He immediately ran to rescue them but Justine went missing while Joshua, 10, was rushed to the Eleuterio T. Decena Memorial Hospital and is now in stable condition, B...

Rescue operations at Victorias City.*Radiant Volunteers photoMost of the residents of three cities and one town of the third district of Negros Occidental who evacuated in the early hours of Friday, the first day of the new year, as floods hit their villages have returned home.There were 8,050 residents affected by the flooding in Victorias, Talisay, and Silay cities and in EB Magalona town but by midday Friday many began to return home as the flood waters subsided, Zeaphard Caelian, head of the Provincial Disaster Management Program Division, said today, January 2.One person was found dead, 30 houses were destroyed and 25 damaged, initial reports showed.In Victorias, 18 houses of light materials were washed away leaving their owners with no place to go home to, Mayor Franc...

The children who were recipients of the Mingo meals.*The Negrense Volunteers for Change delivered about 10,000 Mingo meals to children in 11 communities in Victorias and Silay cities in Negros Occidental, that were hit by floods on New Year's Day.NVC president Millie Kilayko said "flood waters swept away their food, their memorabilia, and expectations of a happy new year morning. Instead, they spent the morning in evacuation centers and moved back home by noon (Friday) to begin the messy task of cleaning up and recouping what they could. "The NVC moved from near-empty evacuation centers where some mothers lay in bed exhausted after the night’s debacle, then to homes where children welcomed the extra sustenance from Mingo Friday, January 1, she said.The hungrier ones who cou...

Heavy rains cause the waters to rise in Silay City.* Kenny Fuentes Talaban photosSome residents sent out text messages for help from their rooftops as flood waters rose in Victorias City early this morning, the first day of 2021.The flooding that hit Talisay, Silay and Victorias cities and EB Magalona in the third district of Negros Occidental was triggered by heavy rain and the high tide, Zeaphard Caelian, head of the Provincial Disaster Management Program Division, said.The flooding affected 4,320 families, initial reports showed.“We even had a fireworks display to usher in the New Year at the city plaza, the flooding caught everybody by surprise after midnight,” Victorias Mayor Francis Palanca told DIGICAST NEGROS.“It was raining in the hinterlands for days, the soil...

CBCP photosTwo bishops in Negros Occidental said their wishes for 2021 are for an end to COVID-19 and the killings so peace will reign.Bacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon said his wishes are health and safety for all, an end to COVID-19 and killings, and for people to return to God and his ways.San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza said his wishes are for an end to killings, the resumption of the peace talks, justice for victims of extrajudicial killings, a coal-free Negros, more renewable energy sources, the protection of the Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park and Northern Negros Natural Park and a COVID-free world.“We have ahead of us a new year, a new life and a new beginning. Let us start with the right foot and head for the right direction.Let us seek God’s will at every step and we ...

Mayor Evelio Leonardia has issued an executive order extending the Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) in Bacolod City until January 31 and setting curfew from 11 a.m. to 4 a.m. effective today.Leonardia, in Executive Order No. 84, Series of 2021, said daily curfew hours will continue to be observed from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m., but exemptions will l be made for workers on night shifts, public emergencies like fire, ambulance services and other occasions caused by disaster, and those requiring medical assistance on board PUVs or private vehicles.The curfew hours may be adjusted at any time within the duration of the MGCQ through the exercise by the mayor of the emergency powers granted him through a city ordinance, the EO said.Curfew hours had been set from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m....