Carla P. Gomez

Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson has allowed three flights to land at the Bacolod Silay Airport on Sunday, December 20, to bring in 600 Locally Stranded Individuals from Manila before the moratoriums on their entry into most towns and cities in Negros Occidental begin, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said today, December 16.The governor granted permission to bring in the inbound passengers on board one Cebu Pacific and two Philippine Airlines flights Sunday so they can spend the holidays with their families, Diaz said.“We are bracing for all the logistical requirements…our team is up to it,” he said.All the incoming passengers will be swabbed for COVID-19 tests and quarantined at the provincial government healing center in Silay City until their negative test results are re...

The Negros Occidental Provincial Health Office is implementing updated guidelines for COVID-19 swab testing starting tomorrow, December 17, to hasten the release of results and ensure accuracy, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said today, December 16.The receiving of all swab test specimens from hospitals and city and municipal health offices will now all be at the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City, he said.The specimens were previously delivered to the Provincial Health Office in Bacolod City that would then deliver them to the TLJPH molecular laboratory.Receiving time will only be from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Sunday, and the person in charge of sending the specimens must inform the PHO medical technician in-charge of the estimated time of ar...

Bacoleños observed Covid-19 health protocols at the first of the nine mornings of Aguinaldo Masses at the San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod City, today, December 16.* Photos by ADSUM's Justine ArcaBacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon at the start of the nine-day Aguinaldo or dawn masses at the San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod City leading up to the day before Christmas said “our Christian faith is the greatest gift of God to us as a people”The bishop said he is very happy that they are able to hold the Aguinaldo masses despite the COVID-19 pandemic.Even if the faithful who showed up at the start of the Misa de Gallo masses overflowed into the streets, there was a strict implementation of the observance of health protocols by parish marshals and the police, the bishop said.He re...

Negros Occidental provincial government employees will receive P40,000 in incentives and bonus this week, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson confirmed today, December 16.The amount includes a P10,000 Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) bonus, P5,000 Productivity Enhancement Incentive (PEI), and P25,000 as Incentive Benefit for Exemplary Service (IBES), he said.Payments to the employees will be made through automated teller machines, he added.The benefits will be received by 3,200 Capitol employees, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.The PEI will be released tomorrow, Dec. 17, he added.Diaz said job order casuals are not covered by the bonus and additional incentives.They will find ways to provide them with something, he said.Last year, the provincial governme...

Mayor Neil Lizares today welcomed the plan of Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson to transfer the seat of government of Negros Occidental to Talisay City.“We welcome this new development as this will bring economic opportunities for growth and progress to our city,” he said.Lizares thanked the provincial government of Negros Occidental under the leadership of Lacson for the trust and confidence in considering Talisay as the new home of the offices of the provincial government.Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said transferring the seat of government of Negros Occidental and all its offices to the 25-hectare property of the provincial government along the Bacolod-Silay Airport Access Road in Talisay City would open up a new growth center.The Capitol would infuse close to P1 billi...

Nocppo photosThe only crime of the Guihulngan City health officer who was mercilessly shot to death with her husband Tuesday, December 15, was her unselfish service to the people of Guihulngan - both as a barrio doctor and as a defender of the poor, San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza said today, December 16.Dr. Mary Rose Genisan Sancelan, and husband Edwin Sancelan, a local government employee, were on their way home when an unidentified suspect shot them outside Carmen Ville Subdivision in Barangay Poblacion, Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental, at 5:20 p.m. Tuesday, December 15.The victims sustained gunshot wounds on different parts of their bodies and were pronounced dead on arrival at the Guihulngan hospital.Dr. Sancelan was branded, vilified, red-tagged, and executed, by ...

Richard Malihan file photoGovernor Eugenio Jose Lacson confirmed today, December 15, the plan to transfer the seat of government of Negros Occidental from Bacolod City to a 25-hectare property it owns in Talisay City, which will create a new growth center for the province.Lacson, in reaction to a DIGICAST NEGROS report Monday, December 14, of the planned transfer disclosed by Alfredo Benitez, provincial consultant on economic affairs, said “yes we’re thinking along that line.”“If we decide to really move then we will start next year” by making computations of the cost, Lacson said.The close to P1 billion budget set for the construction of a new Provincial Administration Center (PAC) at Aguinaldo Street in Bacolod will instead be used for the new seat of government in Talisa...

The curfew in Bacolod City will be from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. starting tomorrow, December 16, for the holidays, Councilor Archie Baribar said today, December 15.The shortened curfew will be observed from December 16 to 31, he said.If Bacolod remains under Modified General Community Quarantine by January 1, the city curfew will return to 11 p.m. to 4 a.m., he added.Bacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon earlier appealed for shorter curfew hours to enable the holding of the traditional Aguinaldo masses this Christmas from December 16 to 24.The Aguinaldo masses are held at dawn for nine consecutive days up to Christmas.The bishop suggested that the curfew end at 3 a.m. “so that the Diocese can offer more early morning Masses to reasonably accommodate churchgoers and thereby, prevent th...

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said he will announce how much the bonus will be for the Negros Occidental provincial government employees tomorrow, December 16.Lacson said he has asked Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz how soon they can release the bonus.“When I know how soon that’s when I will announce how much,” he said.Lacson said this is because he does not want the Capitol employees to sell their bonus to money lenders, he wants them to wait for just a little while before they receive it.The governor thanked the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for approving the budget for the bonus Monday, December 14, in what could be their final session for the year.Diaz said the governor does not want the Capitol employees to fall victim to money lenders by borrow...

The transfer of the seat of government of Negros Occidental from Bacolod City to Talisay City is being considered, Alfredo Benitez, provincial consultant on economic affairs, said today, December 14.“It’s being planned right now. It’s probably in the very early stages of discussion. I think it’s a good direction to pursue,” Benitez said.It is hard for the seat of the provincial government to be located in a jurisdiction it does not control, he said.Bacolod City is a highly urbanized city that is not under the jurisdiction of the Negros Occidental provincial government.Benitez also said it would be cheaper for the provincial government to build a new building for its offices in a vacant lot than to spend for demolition.Benitez, however, said he is not sure what area in T...