Marchel P. Espina

The Isabela Municipal Hall in Negros Occidental was placed under lockdown after three of its job order (JO) employees were tested positive for the coronavirus disease, Mayor Irene Montilla confirmed today, November 29.She said that the three JOs came to the municipal hall to process some papers, and it was found out through contact tracing that they were exposed to a positive patient.“We got the information last Friday (November 27). I made the order to close the municipal hall for a week today (November 29), pending the results,” she said.She said the municipal hall will be closed for disinfection from Tuesday, December 1, to Friday, December 4.There is no work tomorrow, November 30, since it is a holiday.Montilla said that the three JOs have more than 15 direct contac...

CIDG photoAn alleged gunrunner was arrested in a drug bust operation at Bangga Hermilinda Homes in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod City, Friday, November 27.Nabbed was 60-year-old Joel de la Cruz of Grandville Subdivision Phase 2 in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod City.He was arrested by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Bacolod Field Unit for violation of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition.The CIDG said the suspect was engaged in gunrunning activities in Bacolod and adjacent cities and municipalities of Negros Occidental.Recovered from the suspect were one .45 caliber MK IV pistol, three live ammunition and one magazine of a .45 caliber pistol, P100 marked money, 22 paper bills in different denominations as boodle money, a c...

San Carlos LGU photoThe local government of San Carlos City warned COVID-19 positive individuals of possible charges if they hide or refuse to state their whereabouts during contact tracing.Councilor Wilmer Yap, Emergency Operations Center (EOC) incident commander, in a recent meeting, said that any person found violating Republic Act No. 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act will be held accountable, and be penalized with a fine of not less than P20,000 but not more than P50,000 or imprisonment of not less than one month but not more than six months, or both at the discretion of the proper court.Yap, in a press statement, reiterated that withholding information especially about their close contacts will likely le...

The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) is now accepting applications for judgeship positions in eight family courts in Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City.Edgar Aricheta, clerk of court and JBC ex-officio-secretary, in an announcement, said 40 judgeship positions are available in family courts in Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Davao Region.For Negros Occidental, vacant family courts are in the cities of Bacolod, Kabankalan, Bago, Cadiz, San Carlos, Silay, Himamaylan, and La Carlota.The deadline for submission of applications and other documentary requirements will be on December 28.Interested applicants must visit the official JBC website (jbc.judiciary.gov.ph/) and access the Online Application Scheduler not later than the deadline, from 8 a.m...

Contributed photosPrivate individuals and groups in Bacolod City have recently launched a people’s initiative to bring ABS-CBN, the nation's largest media network, back on the air.“Pirma Kapamilya” booths have been set up at a shop in Barangay Granada and downtown Bacolod.Eileen Hofileña of the Pirma Kapamilya Bacolod initiative said they are “happy to have a signing area in a much more accessible place in the downtown area, in front of Limman's Department Store at Araneta Street.“We hope to get more and more signatures every day with this new location,” she added.The group aims to revive a major source of news and entertainment of millions of Filipinos and to protect the constitutional right to information and press freedom, Hofileña said.The “Pirma Kapamilya” was ...

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is sending relief goods to Cagayan and Bicol regions as part of its effort to help those severely affected by the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses.Capt. Eduardo De Luna, PCG-Southern Visayas District commander, said the PCG started loading two truckloads of relief goods, including water and blankets, from them, Negros residents and groups, to the ship at the BREDCO port in Bacolod City today, November 25.The vessel, which came from Zamboanga, will leave for Luzon from the BREDCO port in Bacolod City on Saturday morning, November 28.De Luna said that the vessel was also loaded with relief goods from Zamboanga.He said that the relief effort was the initiative of the PCG to help the affected families following the devastation left by the typhoon.*

The provincial government of Negros Occidental will allocate P35 million for the rehabilitation of the provincial road in Moises Padilla.Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson in a letter dated November 23 to Mayor Ella Celestina Garcia-Yulo said that the provincial government will earmark funds for the rehabilitation of the dilapidated road from Barangay Crossing Magallon to the town proper.Lacson said that P20 million will be sourced from the Conditional Matching Grant to Provinces (CMGP) programs for 2021, while the P15 million will be allocated by the provincial government.The CMGP is a partnership program between the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Department of Budget and Management for provincial local government units in response to needed infrastructure s...

Mark Cabrillos photoFour people were killed after their vehicles collided head-on and caught fire at Barangay Sagua Banua, Valladolid town in Negros Occidental, at 12:15 a.m. today, November 24.Cries for help from one of the passengers could be heard as the vehicles burned.Killed were van driver Wendel Larios and his younger brother Carlo, both of Mabinay, Negros Oriental, van driver Diany Garcia and helper Evel Elostrisimo.Police Captain Wilfredo Benoman Jr., town police chief, said that Larios’ van went over to the opposite lane, resulting in a head-on collision with the oncoming vehicle.Larios could have fallen asleep while behind the wheel, he added.He said that Garcia’s van was carrying a fuel tank, which ignited the fire. The driver was delivering fuel, he add...

BCPO photoPolice seized P13.6 million worth of drugs while three people, two of them women, were arrested in a buy-bust operation at Barangay Singcang-Airport in Bacolod City Monday night, November 23.Nabbed were Regine Arroz, married, 28; Jun Mark, 28, both of Barangay Singcang-Airport; and Shiela Mhary Balarao, 34, of Barangay Palara Norte in Pulupandan town, Negros Occidental.Recovered from the suspects were sachets of shabu weighing 2 kilos, the P1,000 marked money, P14,000 boodle money, and P29,000 cash proceeds.The suspects who are now detained at the police station will face drug charges.*