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More urged to avail of booster shots.*Bacolod PIO FB page photoBacolod City will soon launch a booster drive against COVID-19, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Monday,  July 11.The response to the call for booster shots has not been that much, there is a need to encourage more to go for it, Benitez said at a press conference at the Bacolod City Government Center.“We will have to learn to live with Covid, because it will not disappear it will always be there”, Benitez also said. Noting the slight increase in COVID-19 cases in Bacolod, the mayor said the Public Information Office will have to intensify the “educational process for us to treat ourselves”.There were 19 COVID-19 cases in Bacolod on Sunday, of which 13 were on home quarantine, Benitez said....

City PIO photoPreparations to make Bacolod’s MassKara Festival memorable, unique, exciting and entertaining are underway, Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said Monday, July 11.However, details of the MassKara activities for this year will be revealed at a proper launching, he said.Benitez said he has been calling his friends in the corporate world to support the MassKara and most of them have committed to participate in the festival, it is just a matter of presenting to them the plans for this year.He is making sure there are enough sponsors to make this year’s MassKara Festival memorable, Benitez said.They will also ensure that sufficient assistance is given to participating barangays, he said.The barangays will be grouped into 15 clusters for the festival st...

Bacolod City Legal Officer Romeo Carlos Ting Jr. (center), Good Governance Committee chairman, flanked by City Administrator Pacifico Maghari III (right) and City Internal Auditor Jose Ray Agpangan.*CPG photoThe Good Governance Committee has convened and   is now accepting complaints against any employee or transactions with the Bacolod City government, City Legal Officer Romeo Carlos Ting Jr., its chairman, said Monday July 11.The committee convened on Friday and the City Legal Office has been designated as the secretariat that will receive complaints, evidence and documents for review, Ting said at a press conference at the Bacolod City Government Center.Members of the committee are City Administrator Pacifico Maghari III and City Internal Auditor Jose Ray Agpangan.Maghar...

The construction of the Negros Occidental Language and IT Center Global Campus in Talisay City*The Negros Occidental provincial government is creating project management teams to monitor the implementation of its big ticket projects and reshuffling some division heads, Provincial Administrator Rayfrado Diaz said Monday, July 11.He said the project management teams will be composed of representatives from different departments to ensure contractors’ compliance with specifications and time frames.If there is work slippage, catch up measures must be proposed by the contractor to be approved by the governor, Diaz said.The construction of the Negros Occidental Language and IT Center Global Campus in Brgy. Matab-ang, Talisay City, is ongoing and will also be monitored by a projec...

The Capitol's free shuttle service.* Richard Malihan photoThe Negros Occidental provincial government launched a free shuttle service for its employees starting Monday, July 11, to help them cope with the rising costs of fuel and transportation, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.The initial routes are from the Silay Public Plaza, DepEd in Bago City and the Murcia Public Plaza with departure time at 6:30 a.m.  Mondays to Fridays, he said.The shuttle vehicles will then depart from the Capitol for Silay, Bago and Murcia at 5:20 p.m., he added.           Those boarding the shuttle vehicles must present their provincial government identification cards and will be accommodated on a first come, first serve basis....

A man was shot in his house at Brgy. Tortosa in Manapla on Saturday, July 9.*Manapla PNP photoThree more shooting incidents were reported in Negros Occidental during  the weekend.In Manapla, Marlon Castro, 51, was shot in his house at Hda. Fidel, Brgy. Tortosa in Manapla on Saturday, July 9.The suspect fired his gun from outside the house of the victim, who sustained gunshot wounds to his thigh.The gunman fled  while the victim was brought to Ikaayong Lawas Hospital at Victorias City.The motive of the incident has yet to be established.In Hinigaran, a commotion at a wake led to shooting and stabbing incidents at Sitio Ubay, Barangay Pilar Saturday night.The injured victims were identified as Marjun Garganta and Daryl Dionillo.Suspect Marlon Gargant...

One of the rescued security guards in Sipalay City.*A bank security guard drowned at a beach in Barangay 5, Sipalay City, at about 3:56 p.m. Sunday, July 10.The body of Jeoffrey Cabungcag, 27, a security guard from Barangay Libertad, Escalante City, was seen floating at sea. He was no longer breathing and had no pulse when he was rescued, Danilo Bogtae, Sipalay Emergency Assistance and Rescue Services head, said.His companion Julius Arcangel, 23, also of Barangay Libertad, Escalante, was seen by the Barangay 5 Emergency Response Team in the middle of rough seas calling for help.Arcangel, who survived the incident, is also a bank security guard.*

COVID-19 cases in Bacolod City hit double digits on Sunday, July 10, the Department of Health reported.Bacolod City had 14 new COVID-19 cases and Negros Occidental had 7, the DOH report said.Bacolod had three cases on July 9, twelve on July 8, seven on July 7, four on July 6, nine on July 5, and six on July 4, the DOH reported.The DOH said Bacolod City now has 88 active COVID-19 cases. The city government has resumed its COVID-19 vaccination and booster drive in Bacolod malls and barangays.Meanwhile, three staff at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod have been hit with COVID-19 as of Sunday, Dr. Julius Drilon, CLMMRH chief, said.*

A man who was sitting at a sari-sari store was shot to death at Purok Bulak in Barangay Mandalagan, Bacolod City Saturday night, July 9.*BCPO photoAnother shooting incident occurred in Bacolod City on Saturday night, July 9.Killed was 46-year-old Jovanie Gonzalez of Purok Bulak in Barangay Mandalagan.The victim was sitting in front of a sari-sari store near his house when he was attacked by an unidentified man on board a motorcycle.The police said the suspect, who was wearing a black helmet and jacket, alighted from his motorcycle and shot the victim with an unknown firearm. He fled after the incident.Gonzalez succumbed to a lone gunshot wound at the back of his head.Police have yet to determine the motive of the killing, but the initial investigation indicated that...