Carla P. Gomez

The Bacolod City government will conduct COVID-19 surveillance tests for food delivery drivers Saturday and Sunday, Ernie Pineda, Bacolod City government sectoral concerns office head, said today, November 25.A meeting will be held tomorrow, November 26, to determine the volume of those to be tested so schedules can be set to prevent crowding at the Bacolod Respiratory Outpatient (BRO) Center at the Bacolod Arts, Youth, and Sports Center where they will be swabbed, he added.They have the capacity to swab 400 a day at the BRO, he said.They will be swabbed and allowed to return to work, only those who test positive will be quarantined, he added.Talks are also being finalized for the surveillance testing of public utility jeepney drivers, he said.*

Bacolod-Silay Airport in Silay CityFlights from Cebu to the Bacolod Silay Airport will finally resume in December for humanitarian reasons, Negros Occidental provincial administrator Rayfrando Diaz said today, November 25.However, all flights to Negros Occidental will be suspended on December 24, 25, 31, and January 1 to give frontliners swabbing incoming passengers for COVID-19 tests, time to rest during the holidays, he added.The schedule of the Cebu flights to the Bacolod Silay Airport and vice versa in December are: Cebu Pacific - Tuesday, Air Asia – Wednesday and PAL – Friday, Diaz said.All incoming passengers from Cebu will also be swabbed for COVID-19 tests, he said.The one flight per day from Manila to the province will continue throughout December, he said....

Photo from Capiz Kabalaka Information CenterCardinal-designate Jose Advincula of Capiz, who is among the 13 new cardinals set to be appointed by Pope Francis on Saturday, will miss the ceremony due to COVID-19, the Vatican announced Monday, November 23,Advincula, 68, was the bishop of San Carlos in Negros Occidental before he was appointed archbishop of Capiz.Coronavirus will not stop the Consistory, a formal meeting of the College of Cardinals called by the pope, but it will change its modus operandi, the Vatican said.Advincula will not be able to attend the Consistory in the Vatican because of travel restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.He will attend the celebration, participating remotely from his diocese, through a digital platform that will allow them ...

Richard Malihan file photoThe Negros Occidental provincial government is conducting a feasibility study for the upgrading of its closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance system that will interconnect coverage of all its facilities in the province, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said today, November 25.A project proposal will then be submitted to the governor for approval, he said.Renelo Lastierre, head of the Capitol’s Security and Safety Division, said the system will cover all the provincial government-run hospitals and facilities.This will enable the governor to view what is happening in provincial government facilities around the province with just one click on his cellular phone, he added.A monitoring system at the Capitol’s security office will be ab...

The Negros Occidental Progressive Alliance of Capitol Employees is hoping Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson will sign their Collective Negotiation Agreement soon for the possible release of their signing bonus, PACE president Renelo Lastierre said today, November 25.The Sangguniang Panlalawigan on Tuesday, November 24, granted the governor authority to sign the CNA.Lastierre said the CNA needs to be signed by the governor and himself soon so it can be registered with the Civil Service Commission and Department of Labor and Employment.This will then be the basis for the granting of CNA bonuses to the employees depending on the savings of the provincial government at the end of the year, he said.A Department of Budget and Management circular states that the bonus should not be more th...

Capitol file photoThe Negros Occidental provincial government has allocated P5 million for the P100,000 cash assistance to Negrense centenarians this year, but so far only 30 recipients have been identified.Hinigaran and Himamaylan have five centenarians each, Cauayan and Cadiz – three each, Sagay Candoni and La Carlota City – two each, and Escalante City, EB Magalona, Manapla, La Castellana, Isabela, Bago City, Kabankalan City and Ilog - one each, Merle Garcia, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office OIC, said today, November 24.Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson delivered the cash assistance to eight centenarians at their homes in the cities of Escalante, Sagay, and Cadiz and the municipalities of Manapla and E.B. Magalona, Friday, she said.The governor w...

Capitol photoGovernor Eugenio Jose Lacson said the Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol will be lighted orange to signify that the entire province is one with the international movement to end violence against women.“Society can never be really progressive until the rights of women are rightfully accorded the import and value it deserves,” he said at the launching of this year’s 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women at the Capitol Social Hall in Bacolod City, today, November 24.Lacson was joined by members of the Provincial Council for Women and the Provincial Committee Against Trafficking, Child Pornography and Violence Against Women and Children at the launching of the activity, with the theme “VAW-free Community Starts With Me”.The governor said he has invited th...

The fish and vegetable section of the Food Terminal Market of Negros Occidental (FITMON) at the North Capitol Road in Bacolod City has been shut down after a 45-year-old job order worker at the facility succumbed to COVID-19, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said today, November 24.Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said they will see how the family of the JO worker can be assisted.His death is a reminder that COVID-19 is still around and while there is talk of a vaccine it will be some time before it becomes available in the country, Lacson said.About 20 workers and guards at the affected FITMON section were swabbed for COVID-19 tests and isolated, Diaz said.Contact tracing is also underway, he added.Lucille Gelvolea, head of the provincial government’s ...

The Sangguniang Palalawigan unanimously approved the P4.47 billion general fund budget and P128 million Economic Enterprise Development Department budget of Negros Occidental for 2021 this afternoon, November 24.The SP also approved the Collective Negotiation Agreement between the provincial government and the Progressive Alliance of Capitol Employees.Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer said the annual general budget of P4,471,695,065 and P128,073,521 EEDD budget were approved on the third and final reading without any objections.The approval came after two weeks of deliberations and hearings by the SP Committee on Finance headed by Board Member Rommel Debulgao, he said.Also approved by the SP is the utilization of P798.7 million from the 20 percent Provincial Development Fund for...

Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer expects the proposed P4.4 billion 2021 budget of the Negros Occidental provincial government to be approved by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan at its regular session today, November 24.The SP Committee on Finance has completed its hearings and deliberations on the budget and will present its report to the SP, Ferrer said.He does not believe there will be any objections, Ferrer added.Meanwhile, Ferrer said additional incentives for provincial government employees, including the Collective Negotiating Agreement bonus, are under study.The amounts to be granted will depend on availability of funds, he said.The provincial government employees should think positive, Ferrer added.*