Carla P. Gomez

Negros Occidental disaster teams remain on alert for flash floods and landslides that may be brought on by heavy rains with two weather disturbances still within the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), Zeaphard Gerhart Caelian, Provincial Disaster Management Program Division chief, said tonight, November 1.“We are prepared for anything,” he said.He said while Negros is not in the path of Typhoon “Rolly” and Tropical Storm “Siony,” the weather disturbances could trigger heavy rains.The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration at 5 p.m. Sunday, November 1, reported that “Rolly” was heading toward the southern coast of Batangas.“Rolly” is forecast to exit the mainland Luzon landmass and emerge over the West Philippine Sea Sunday night, ...

City PIO file photoMayor Evelio Leonardia, in an executive order extending the General Community Quarantine in Bacolod City until November 30, said curfew will remain from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. and several businesses will still not be allowed to operate.Religious gatherings will be allowed at 30 percent of the seating capacity of the venue and limited to the conduct of religious worship or service, Leonardia also said in Executive Order No. 70, Series of 2020, issued Friday, October 30.Leonardia said he appealed to the National Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF) for Bacolod to be categorized under Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) starting November 1.However, the NIATF opted to keep Bacolod under its current GCQ status to ensure the momentum of the city’s gains in the ...

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson this afternoon, October 30, signed an executive order extending the duration of the Modified General Community Quarantine over Negros Occidental until 11:59 p.m. of November 30.The governor, in Executive Order No. 20-47, Series of 2020, said all persons violating the provisions of the EO and established health safety protocols issued by the Department of Health and the Inter-Agency Task Force will face appropriate administrative and criminal charges.Negros Occidental has been under MGCQ since June.There are 62 new COVID-19 cases in Negros Occidental and 25 in Bacolod City, the Department of Health reported today.The DOH said 4,614 persons have been hit by COVID-19 in Negros Occidental, 2,936 of whom have recovered and 79 have died. The province has ...

Photo from Ferdinand Panes' FacebookThe Department of the Interior and Local Government mourns the passing of its Negros Occidental provincial director, Ferdinand Panes, and will provide all necessary assistance and benefits to his family, DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said.Panes passed away at the St. Paul’s Hospital in Iloilo City Wednesday night, October 28.“As a frontliner, PD Panes’ life was true to our dictum of Matino, Mahusay at Maaasahan brand of leadership in Western Visayas. He was a beacon of excellence in his quest to deliver public service to the Negrenses and all other LGUs he was assigned to,” the secretary said in a statement“True to his calling as a public servant and despite the danger posed by the coronavirus, especially to people of his age, he braved the ...

PIA photoFacilities to boost the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic worth P52 million were inaugurated in the cities of Bacolod and Silay in Negros Occidental today, October 30.Inaugurated were quarantine and isolation facilities in Barangay Alijis and a 32-bed dormitory at then Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) in Bacolod City, and another 32-bed dormitory at the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital (TLJPH) in Silay City, Regional Director Lea Delfinado of the Department of Public Works and Highways, said.Secretary Vince Dizon, National Policy Against Covid-19 deputy chief implementer, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Lacson, Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District), Rep. Stephen Paduano (Abang Lingkod partylist), and Mayor Evelio L...

Contributed photoTyphoon Quinta floods destroyed P39.1 million in crops and animals, an updated report from the provincial government showed today, October 30.The loss of rice and corn crops hit P38,131,719, and P1,051,258.16 for farm animals.Provincial Agriculturist Japhet Masculino said the floods hit 2,625.71 hectares affecting 2,091 farmers.Rice crop destruction in Bago City was placed at P24,665,235, Hinoba-an - P4,235,350, Sipalay City - P3,798,671, Moises Padilla – P1,667, 596, Himamaylan City – P1,459,166, Isabela – P1,422,700, Cadiz City - P427,476, Valladolid – P234, 175 and Pulupandan – P38, 840, he said.Corn crop destruction in Sipalay City was P168,535 and Moises Padilla - P13,975, Masculino added.*

Richard Malihan photoThe flag at the Negros Occidental Capitol in Bacolod City is flying at half staff for the provincial head of the Department of the Interior and Local Government who passed away at past 11 p.m. Wednesday, October 28, after being hit by COVID-19.Ferdinand Panes, 60, passed away at the St. Paul’s Hospital in Iloilo after suffering from a heart attack and becoming comatose, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said today, October 29.He had gone home to Iloilo on October 2, was diagnosed with COVID-19, and was intubated at the St. Paul’s Hospital on October 13, Diaz added.Diaz said about 30 DILG staff members in Negros Occidental were tested for COVID-19 and one casual employee tested positive.The casual employee was quarantined at the Mambukal Resort...

Department of Health and Department of the Interior and Local Government officials in Western Visayas are endorsing the appeal of Mayor Evelio Leonardia to the national Inter-Agency Task Force to de-escalate the status of Bacolod City from general community quarantine (GCQ) to modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), City Administrator Em Ang said Wednesday night, October 28.President Duterte on Tuesday, October 27, announced that Bacolod would remain under GCQ until the end of November.Dr. Marlyn Concovar, DOH regional director, has announced that Bacolod is qualified to be under MGCQ subject to observance of gatekeeping parameters, Ang said.Leonardia in his appeal for the city to be placed under MGCQ said there is already a significant indication of a continuous reductio...