Marchel P. Espina

Image by pixabayThe city government of San Carlos in Negros Occidental will conduct coronavirus disease surveillance testing on its bedridden constituents to curb the spread of the virus.Councilor Wilmar Yap, Emergency Operations Center commander, said during their meeting on Monday, December 7, that most of the fatalities in the city were bedridden individuals who had not been outside of their homes for a very long time.“This is also one way of knowing if members of their households are COVID-19 carriers so we can provide them health assistance, capture asymptomatic individuals and prevent further the spread of the virus,” Yap said in a statement.The San Carlos barangay captains were also directed to provide the EOC with the list of all bedridden individuals in their areas...

Screenshot from CLMMRH video releaseThe Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital, a Department of Health-run hospital in Bacolod City, is warning the public against the use of firecrackers during the holidays.CLMMRH, in an advisory, said it is joining the annual campaign of the DOH in advocating against the use of firecrackers during the holiday season.It added that the hospital is aiming to reduce firecracker-related injury cases through constant education and awareness.Based on the DOH’s Fireworks Related Injury (FWRI) surveillance report, Western Visayas has recorded 47 blast injuries in 2019.Dr. Julius M. Drilon, CLMMRH medical center chief, said: “We have to remind our kababayans regarding our tradition of greeting the New Year with revelries and a tra...

The economy of Western Visayas or Region 6 grew by 6.4 percent in 2019, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) recently reported.The region’s economic growth, based on the PSA report, was faster than Central Visayas or Region 7 which grew by 5.9 percent, and Eastern Visayas or Region 8 which improved by 5.3 percent.Marlene Alviar, PSA-6 regional director, said that the 6.4 percent growth rate of Western Visayas was higher than its 4.8 percent registered in 2018.The total goods and services generated by Western Visayas were contributed by the growth in the agriculture and fishery sector at 0.1 percent, the industry sector at 1.3 percent, and the services sector at 5 percent, the PSA report said.The services sector, which accounted for 62.1 percent of the economy of the re...

The municipal government of Pontevedra in Negros Occidental is suspending the arrival of locally stranded individuals (LSIs) to its locality for 15 days.This, after the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases approved on November 26 the request of the locality for a 15-day moratorium on the acceptance of LSIs from December 22 to January 5, 2021, to give sufficient time for the preparation of their quarantine facilities before accommodating the new batch of incoming LSIs.The resolution said that the Department of Health (DOH) Region 6 has provided RIATF with the necessary data and poses no objection to the approval of the request.It added that the suspension on the LSI arrival will be lifted after the period.Meanwhile, the DOH-6 re...

BCPO photoTwo high-value individuals were arrested in a drug bust operation at Barangay Estefania in Bacolod City Monday night, December 7.Nabbed were 32-year-old Jemelyn Soriño and 37-year-old Joebert Bandiola.Soriño’s live-in partner, identified by the police as Ariel Armamento, 37, was able to evade police arrest and remains at large.Recovered from the suspects’ possession were three sachets of shabu, a coin purse with in P300 cash, and the P300 buy-bust money, and other drug paraphernalia, the police report showed.The suspects, who are in police custody, will face drug charges.*

Moises Padilla LGU photosEmployees of the municipal government of Moises Padilla underwent mandatory swab testing today, December 7, after two of their co-workers tested positive for the virus.This prompted Moises Padilla Mayor Ella Garcia-Yulo to issue an executive order implementing a temporary lockdown on various offices of the local government, pending the COVID-19 test results of its employees.All government employees who underwent swab testing are required to go on quarantine to ensure the health and safety of the public, the order said.The Mayor's, Social Welfare and Development, Accountant, Assessor, Local Civil Registrar, Engineering, Treasurer, Budget, and Economic Enterprise offices have temporarily been closed, the EO said.Employees of those offices were dir...

Two people were killed while two others were injured in separate shooting incidents in Negros Occidental on Sunday, December 6.The first incident happened in the upland area of Barangay Macasilao in Calatrava town at around 10 a.m., the police said.The victims, along with several others, were at a cockfight beside a river when five armed men arrived and shot 47-year-old Bonifacio Bargamento in the head with a .45 caliber pistol. He died instantly, a police report said.Roel Geno, 48, was accidentally hit by a bullet on the right side of his body. He was brought to Calatrava District Hospital for treatment.The unidentified perpetrators fled from the scene, and the police have yet to establish the motive of the incident.In Silay City, a resident was shot to death by an uni...

A man was stoned to death by his friend at Barangay Dancalan in Ilog town on December 6. Ilog PNP photoTwo men were killed in stabbing and stoning incidents in Negros Occidental on Sunday, December 6.In La Castellana, 41-year-old Tito Arturo, a laborer, was stabbed to death while visiting a wake at Barangay Cabacungan at around 3 p.m., a police report said.The victim teased the suspect identified as 37-year-old Leonard Espadera, who allegedly got mad, the report said.The suspect, also a laborer, then went home and took a 17-inch bolo. He returned to the wake and stabbed the victim on the left side of his stomach.The victim was brought to a funeral home for post-mortem examination, while the suspect was immediately arrested by the responding police.STONED TO DEATH...

A drug surrenderer was shot to death by unidentified suspects, while his partner was wounded in the gun attack at E.C Villanueva Street in Bais City, Negros Oriental, Sunday night, December 6.Killed was 31-year-old Patrick Manuel Romero, alias “Paton,” who was said to be a high-value individual, while his live-in partner, 29-year-old Rhea Lou Pagador, sustained injuries.The victims were on board a motorcycle when they were waylaid by the unidentified suspects, who shot Romero multiple times, a police report said.The victims were then brought to Bais City District Hospital where Romero was declared dead on arrival while his live-in partner sustained a wound on her right elbow.She said that one of the suspects told her, in vernacular, “wala kay labot (you have nothing to do w...

A couple was found dead near their home at Barangay Buntis, Bacong town in Negros Oriental on December 5.The fatalities were identified as 29-year-old Jerson Pabayos, a caretaker of a livestock and agricultural farm, and his live-in partner, 20-year-old Manilyn Gomez, who was a native of Guihulngan City.Based on the initial investigation, the body of Pabayos was found 10 meters from his house, with multiple stab wounds, while Gomez was discovered at the back of the hog shed, 20 meters from their residence. She also sustained multiple stab wounds and has no underwear.According to the neighbors, Pabayos went home after midnight from a drinking session with his four friends, the police report said.The four friends who are considered as persons of interest submitted themselves ...