Carla P. Gomez

Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia is again appealing to the national Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases to de-escalate the status of Bacolod City from General Community Quarantine to Modified General Community Quarantine starting December 1.“We have met all the criteria for de-escalation with the further decline of COVID-19 cases in Bacolod City during the last two weeks,” Leonardia said in a letter sent to Health Secretary Francisco Duque, NIATF chairman, Thursday, November 26.As of November 24, Bacolod had 258 active COVID-19 cases out of 5,294 accumulated cases, he said.The total number of recoveries have also reached 4,875 or 92.8 percent, which correlates to good management and treatment of COVID-19 cases, he said.Based on the Local Government Unit Ri...

The National Bureau of Investigation is preparing to file syndicated estafa charges against more than five persons responsible for “swindling” 42 Negrenses of P35,387,500, NBI Bacolod chief Renoir Baldovino said today, November 27.Among the 42 were seven teachers who invested about P250,000 in the firm, which also has a “gold online shop” on Facebook, he said.The 42 were enticed to invest in gold trading by three Negros-based agents, he said, but withheld their names pending the filing of complaints before the prosecutor’s office.The ones who collected money from investors in Negros remitted the collection to the principal suspects in Agusan, their initial investigation shows, Baldovino said.They offer a high rate of return on investments to attract investors, but the compl...

Richard Malihan file photoThe Department of Finance has designated an acting provincial treasurer for Negros Occidental who will assume office on December 2, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said today, November 27.Amy Grace Bolivar, city treasurer of San Carlos City, was named acting treasurer for one year, in place of Provincial Treasurer Nilda Generoso whose mandatory retirement takes effect December 1.Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Lacson has asked the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to designate Bolivar as authorized signatory of depository accounts of the provincial government effective December 2.The SP is expected to act on the governor’s request during its regular session on Tuesday, December 2, Diaz said.*

Patrick Joseph Mabugat with his parents Col. Calixto Mabugat and Arlene Amunategui Mabugat during his graduation from the USLS College of Medicine.*The two second placers in the 2020 Physician Licensure Examination are from Negros Island.They are Patrick Joseph Mabugat, 26, a University of St. La Salle student from Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, and Adrian Emmanuel Teves, a University of Santo Tomas student, from Bayawan City, Negros Oriental.Adrian Emmanuel Teves with his parents Bayawan City Mayor Pryde Henry Teves and Zonna Lee Diago Teves.*They both have ratings of 88.58 percent, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announced Thursday, November 26.Mabugat had also topped the 2014 Medical Technologist Licensure Examination, while Teves ranked second in the ...

The Kabankalan City Hall reopened today, November 26, with 50 percent of its workforce, Mayor Pedro Zayco said.Zayco said out of 159 Kabankalan residents tested for COVID-19 Friday, November 20, initial results show that four are positive for the virus.Those who tested positive are a City Engineer’s Office employee, the wife of an engineer earlier hit by the virus, and two Locally Stranded Individuals who just arrived in Kabankalan, Zayco said.The Kabankalan City Hall was shut down Friday, November 20, for disinfection, after 23 employees of the city government tested positive for COVID-19.Zayco said the Kabankalan City Hall employees have been divided into Team A and B.Team A members will work at the city hall for a week, while those from Team B will be swabbed for COV...

The annual Christmas party of the Negros Occidental provincial government employees at the SMX Convention Center in Bacolod City has been canceled as a precaution against COVID-19, Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said today, November 25.But every provincial government department can have their respective celebrations provided they can follow health protocols, Lacson said.Meanwhile, Mayor Rex Jalando-on has issued an executive order prohibiting La Carlota City government employees from holding Christmas parties inside and outside their offices to prevent the spread of COVID-19.*

The House Committee on Health today, November 25, approved House Bill 4763 increasing the bed capacity of the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City, Negros Occidental, from 100 to 300 beds.The bill authored by Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) also seeks the upgrading of services and facilities and the increase of medical personnel at the hospital, and the allocation of funds for the purpose.Benitez, in his explanatory note to the bill, said the 1987 Constitution guarantees the protection and the promotion of the right to health of the people.“The delivery of timely, quality and affordable health services, however, is hampered by the lack of government healthcare facilities and human resources which may lead to a tragic loss of life,” Benitez sa...

The fish and vegetable section of the Food Terminal Market of Negros Occidental (FITMON) at the North Capitol Road in Bacolod City will reopen tomorrow, November 26, after those tagged as close contacts of a job order worker, who succumbed to COVID-19, tested negative for the virus, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said today, November 25.The fish and vegetable section was shutdown after a 45-year-old job order worker at the facility succumbed to COVID-19 Monday morning, November 23.All 19 security guards and employees at the facility tested negative, results released today showed, Diaz said.The facility has already been disinfected and is safe for reopening, he added.Lucille Gelvolea, head of the provincial government’s Economic Enterprise Development Department, sa...