Carla P. Gomez

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....

Photo from Jeffrey Giganto Facebook accountDo we have to kill our perceived enemies, especially if they are unarmed?That was the question raised by San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza following the death of nine and the arrest of 17 in Tapaz, Capiz, and Calinog, Iloilo, as the police served 28 search warrants for firearms and explosives today, December 30.The suspects, who were alleged communist rebels, fired on the policemen serving the search warrants causing them to return fire, the police said.However, Alminaza said they were Tumanduks (indigenous people) who were red-tagged.Is this the way we celebrate Christmas as a Christian country about to welcome the New Year and 500 Years of Christianity? Alminaza asked.The bishop reiterated his call for an end to the kill...

Chief Nurse Jane Gaylo, Dr. Claudelia Josefa Pabillo, Kabankalan City Mayor Pedro Zayco, and DPWH Regional Director Lea Delfinado (l-r) cut the ribbon during the turnover of the dormitory to the Lorenzo B. Zayco District Hospital.*DPWH-6 photoThe Department of Public Works and Highways has allocated P78 million for three more hospital off-site dormitories and three quarantine facilities to boost the fight against COVID-19 in four cities in Negros Occidental, DPHW Regional Director Lea Delfinado said today, December 30.The DPWH turned over a P13.5 million off-site dormitory to the Lorenzo B. Zayco District Hospital in Kabankalan City this month to serve as a temporary home for medical professionals and frontliners offering healthcare services to COVID-19 patients, she said.Two o...

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson today, December 30, called on Negrenses not to drink and drive, and to avoid using firecrackers to usher in the New Year.Accidents due to the use of firecrackers are numerous during New Year’s eve, the governor pointed out.“I’m asking everyone to avoid the use of such, particularly that we are still in a pandemic and we don’t want to burden any further our hospitals with cases of injuries that can be avoided,” he said.During the New Year’s celebration, cases of road accidents usually increase because of drunk driving, Lacson also said.“When intoxicated, take a cab or ask someone sober to drive you home, or sleep and drive when sober. Better yet, don’t drink and drive at all, for your safety and the safety of others,” he said.*...

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines announced today the flight schedules of the three airlines flying to the Bacolod-Silay Airport in January 2021.The CAAP advisory said Philippine Airlines will have inbound Manila-Bacolod cargo flights and outbound Bacolod-Manila cargo/sweeper flights on Sundays (January 3 and 24).PAL will also have Manila-Bacolod-Manila flights on Mondays and Fridays (January 4, 8, 11, 15, 18, 22, 25, and 29), and Cebu-Bacolod- Cebu flights on Mondays (January 4, 11, 18 and 25).Cebu Pacific will have an inbound cargo Manila-Bacolod flight, and an outbound cargo/sweeper flight to Manila on Sunday (January 17).It will also have Manila-Bacolod-Manila flights Tuesdays and Thursdays ( January 5,7, 12, 14, 19, 21, 26, and 28) and Cebu-Bacolod-Cebu f...

Three towns in Negros Occidental were COVID-19 free as of Monday, December 28, the Provincial Incident Management Team reported.The three towns with no COVID-19 active cases were Candoni, Pulupandan, and Salvador Benedicto.Meanwhile, San Carlos City had the most number of active COVID-19 cases in the province Monday at 18, followed by Sagay City with 16, Isabela -15, La Carlota City – 13, Cauayan – 12, Victorias City, Kabankalan City, Talisay City, Himamaylan City, and Hinigaran – 10 each;Silay City and Cadiz City – 9 each, Toboso, Valladolid, Calatrava and Escalante – 8 each, Hinoba-an – 7, San Enrique -6 , La Castellana and EB Magalona – 5 each, Ilog, Murcia, Pontevedra, Manapla, Bago City and Binalbgan – 4 each, Moises Padilla – 3, and Sipalay City – 1.Meanwhile, the Dep...

A P50 million fund has been included in the 2021 national budget for the expansion of the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital (TLJPH) in Silay City, while talks on the transfer of the Negros Occidental provincial government offices to a 25-hectare property in Talisay City will begin in January, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said today, December 29.Lacson said he was assured by a senator, whom he would not name, that P50 million has been included in the national budget for an infectious disease section at the hospital.The amount has yet to be officially downloaded for the Department of Health expansion project, he added.A meeting with local chief executives will also be held in January to finally decide whether the provincial government offices should be transferred to Talisay ...

Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson called on Negrenses today, December 29, not to let their guards down even if Negros Occidental remains under the more lenient Modified General Community Quarantine in January as the threat of a new COVID-19 strain looms.President Rodrigo Duterte announced Monday night that Negros Occidental and Oriental, and Bacolod City will remain under MGCQ in January.The new COVID-19 strain is not deadlier but it is 70 percent more contagious, Lacson warned.So he hopes Negrenses continue to practice minimum health standards, which include wearing face masks and shields, proper hygiene, and social distancing, Lacson said.The provincial government in 2021 will continue to swab persons entering Negros Occidental for COVID-19 tests and quarantine them until thei...