Marchel P. Espina

NOCPPO photoEleven personnel of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office who survived the coronavirus disease have recently donated their blood as a response to the call of the Department of Health (DOH).NOCPPO, under the command of its provincial director, Police Col. Romy Palgue, partnered with the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) Blood Bank for its program, “Plasma mo, Armas ko batuk sa COVID-19.”According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the DOH, the convalescent plasma of the persons who have recovered from the disease contains antibodies that can be transferred to the critically-ill COVID-19 patients, Palgue said in a press release.“The whole blood extracted will be processed to separate the solid particles of the blood fr...

The P5,000 one-time cash assistance of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for the displaced workers in the formal sector is back.Bacolod City Rep. Greg Gasataya said today, November 3, that his office was informed by DOLE Region 6 that the department has an allocation of P157 million from the cash assistance program for Western Visayas displaced workers in the private sector.Under Department Order No. 218-2020, that was approved on October 28, the second round of the COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP) will cover displaced workers, including probationary, project, seasonal, contractual, and casual employees in private health institutions, culture and arts, creative industries, broadcast, construction, public transportation, trade and industry, cooperatives and ot...

Police Station 5 photoA man was killed while several others were injured after the public utility jeepney they were on hit a truck that was parked along the Granada-Alangilan Road in Barangay Granada, Bacolod City, Monday night, November 2.Police identified the fatality as Lorry Fernandez, the father of the jeepney driver Joshua Araujo.Initial police investigation showed that the jeepney driver, who was said to be under the influence of intoxicating liquor, hit the parked truck along the road.The father, who was in the front seat, succumbed to multiple injuries, while Araujo’s partner and two children, who were riding in the back seat, were also injured.The jeepney driver is now detained at the police station.*

City PIO photoThe city government of San Carlos will establish its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to help with its campaign against the coronavirus disease.This came following the visit of Melquiades Feliciano, Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) Deputy Implementer for the Visayas, to the city on October 31.Mayor Renato Gustilo said the EOC will focus on containing the local transmission in the city. He added that people must heed to health and safety protocols set by the government so they will be safe from the virus.Joe Recalex Alingasa, public information officer for COVID-19 in San Carlos City, said that the establishment of the center is one of the inputs made by the city during Feliciano's visit."Coordinated and collaborative responses and resources utilization in s...

The local production of sugar in the country has dramatically increased to 66.31 percent in the third week of October compared to the same period last year, the Sugar Regulatory Administration said.In the latest supply and demand situation report of SRA, from September 1 to October 18, 2020, the total production of raw sugar was 97,845 metric tons (MT) compared to the same period in the previous year with 58,834 MT.This is equivalent to 1.956 million 50-kilo bags this year and 1.176 million last year.The demand for raw sugar has also increased by 51.21 percent, from 114,319 MT to 172,859 MT during the period, SRA said.The sugar crop year starts every September and ends in August.Moreover, the production of refined sugar fell by 79.44 percent at 2,963 MT from 14,410 MT i...

The Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) management will limit its admission of patients as it reached the full capacity of its allocated beds.Dr. Julius Drilon, CLMMRH chief, announced on Monday, November 2, that the hospital will implement temporary changes following this development.He said that the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Department of Pediatrics will limit its admission to extreme emergency cases only until further notice.The Operating Room Complex at the West Tower Building will also limit its surgical operations to extreme emergency cases until further notice, he added.The hospital management is requesting the public to contact their hotline first before they transport or transfer ...

City PIO file photoThe business sector in Bacolod City is optimistic that the economy of Western Visayas is on its way to recovery after inter-island travel has resumed over the weekend.Frank Carbon, Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive officer, said that the “signals are good,” as he pointed out that the volume of passengers and cargoes on Saturday, October 31, during the initial trips of fastcrafts, is “encouraging.”Fastcrafts plying between Bacolod and Iloilo routes have suspended its operations for five months following the travel restrictions in the two localities.Traders in the region have committed to restarting their trading activities, Carbon said.Bacolod are ready to accept visitors and tourists and that a new hotel by SM City will op...

After three months of prohibiting non-essential and tourism-related travel to Sipalay City, its local government has lifted the restrictions to open up its economic activities.With the decrease in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the province, the local Inter-Agency Task Force has deemed it necessary to ease the restrictions and lift the moratorium on non-essential travel for the economic recovery of the city, Mayor Ma. Gina Lizares said in Executive Order 2020-048.The lifting of the moratorium on tourism-related travel to Sipalay will start on November 6.However, everyone who is entering and leaving Sipalay must at least comply with the travel form and additional requirements depending on the purpose of travel and the duration of stay in the city, she said.Those w...