Marchel P. Espina

Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran said that the foam party at a beach resort at Barangay Pahanocoy last week is being investigated.He already talked with Barangay Pahanocoy Captain Yolanda Noble who confirmed that the incident happened in her area, Familiaran said.Familiaran said that the people inside the resort were violating the minimum health protocols such as not wearing face masks and no social distancing.Videos of the event are making rounds on social media.Familiaran said that the people seen in the video don’t look like partygoers, but still, he stressed that the minimum health protocols were violated.He said the incident is still being looked into.*

The Bacolod City Emergency Operations Center (EOC) reminded persons identified as having come in contact with COVID-19 positive patients to disclose all necessary information to the City’s Contact Tracing Team.The EOC reiterated its call after it discovered that some individuals have withheld relevant information from the Contact Tracing Team, a press release from the Bacolod City Public Information Officer today, January 21, said.“Early detection, identification, isolation and containment of the virus prevent dreaded effects which may lead to death,” Dr. Rosalie Deocampo, contact tracing cluster head, said.The information to be provided during contact tracing must be “truthful and accurate” to effectively curb the spread of the viral disease, Dr. Chris Sorongon, EOC medical deputy...

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) identified 17 barangays in Negros Occidental that are susceptible to floods and landslides.Based on the MGB data released today, January 20, the flood and landslide-prone villages in the province are: Celestino Villacin and VF Gustilo, Cadiz City; Lalong, Calatrava; Canlusong and San Isidro, EB Magalona; Canlandog and Pandanon in Murcia, and Puey, Sagay City;Bagong Silang, Bunga, Igmaya-an, Kumaliskis, Pandanon, Salvador Benedicto; Patag, Silay City; Cabatangan and San Fernando, Talisay City; and Barangay 11, Victorias City.In the data, the barangays were also classified based on their susceptibility to floods and landslides.Areas classified with “very high” susceptibility to landslides were Celestino Villacin in Cadiz, Canlusong and S...

BCPO photoMore than P450,000 worth of drugs were seized while 10 persons were arrested in separate police buy-bust operations in Bacolod City in three days.Nabbed at Barangay 2 on Monday night, January 18, was Arielle Discutido, a street-level individual, while her companion, Romulo Hamantoc, a high-value target, escaped during a police buy-bust operation.Recovered from Discutido were seven sachets of shabu worth P123,500 and P2,000 in marked money, Lt. Col. Ariel Pico, Bacolod City Police Office spokesperson, said.In another buy-bust operation, 32-year-old Michael Libre of Barangay Vista Alegre was arrested on Tuesday night, January 19, at Barangay Alijis.The suspect, who was said to be a street-level target, yielded four sachets of suspected shabu worth P40,800, and P...

Screenshot from Aling Malaki's YouTubeThe Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) claimed that 13 state troopers were killed in separate encounters in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental, during the weekend, a claim that was vehemently denied by the Philippine Army.Marco Valbuena, CPP information officer, in a statement today, January 19, claimed the troopers of the 62nd Infantry Battalion ”got into a misencounter with their local paramilitary unit in the same vicinity and 13 troops were reportedly killed in the ambush as the New People’s Army fighters detonated an explosive against the soldiers.”“The ambush was the only encounter that day between the NPA and the 62nd IB troops, contrary to claims by the AFP that four encounters took place,” he said, adding that the Army did not ...

The Social Security System has temporarily closed its Bacolod office at Lacson Street today, January 19, and tomorrow, January 20, for sanitation and disinfection.An SSS advisory said the move was a precautionary measure against the coronavirus pandemic.Normal operations will resume on Thursday, January 21.Members with branch appointments on the said dates have been rescheduled to Thursday.Those with queries may contact SSS Bacolod at 09451772270 and 0933-4623-086, or send an email to bacolod@sss.gov.ph.*

PNP photoCardinal Jose Advincula of Capiz and the seven prelates of Western Visayas and Romblon, including bishops Patricio Buzon of Bacolod, Gerardo Alminaza of San Carlos and Louie Galbines of Kabankalan, who have denounced the killing of tribes people during the December 30 police operations in Panay, were warned today, January 18, against “hasty, false, and presumptuous conclusions.”The eight prelates have issued a pastoral letter to be read in masses in all Catholic churches in Western Visayas on January 24, demanding a thorough investigation of the killings by an independent body.Flosemer Chris Gonzales, chief of the legal cooperation cluster of the Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC), in reaction to the pastoral letter, said the bishops ...