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Capitol file photoNegros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Vice Governor Jeffery Ferrer will wait for the filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs) in October before they decide on their presidential bet for the May 2022 polls.This was disclosed by Lacson Monday, August 9, after three Negros Occidental mayors committed to support Davao Mayor Sara Duterte Carpio, the daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte, should she decide to run for president.Mayors Mark Golez of Silay City, Rhumyla Nicor Mangilimutan of La Castellana and Nadie Arceo of Hinigaran pledged to support the mounting call for the Davao mayor to run for president in 2022, retired PCol. William Senoron said last week.“It’s really up to mayors if they want to commit now,” Lacson said“We’ll see if Negros c...

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson issued an executive order Tuesday, August 10, setting the implementing guidelines for migrant sugarcane workers travelling to Negros Occidental for crop year 2021-2022, which takes effect immediately.Lacson, in Executive Order 21-42 Series of 2021, said in the light of the forthcoming sugarcane crop season there will be an influx of migrant sugarcane workers entering the province hence the need to issue proactive guidelines to prevent the potential surge of COVID-19 cases in Negros Occidental.The guidelines state that individual planters must submit the list of migrant sugarcane workers they require for crop year 2021-2022 to their association.The list must state the names of the migrant sugarcane workers, their basic information, plac...

The Bacolod City government has partnered with the Philippine Red Cross Negros Occidental-Bacolod Chapter to operate its sixth mall-based vaccination site that opened at Gaisano City Monday, August 9, City Administrator Em Ang said.The vaccination site located at the second floor of the mall can cater every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to 300 individuals who want to avail of COVID-19 vaccines, Ang, executive director of the Bacolod Emergency Operations Center, said.Present during the Monday morning opening were Philippine Red Cross Negros-Bacolod Chapter Chairman Carlos Ganihong, Chapter Administrator Ben Nette Mirasol, personnel and volunteers. Also present were Gaisano Grand Leasing Manager Rhea Medina, Area Operations Manager Chone Tan and head of security Gilbert Linda.Mayo...

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) is distributing free food packs to fully vaccinated outgoing passengers at the Bacolod-Silay Airport.This is in line with the directive of the Department of Transportation in support of the objective of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to encourage vaccination, a CAAP statement said.Oubound passengers should present their vaccination card to the airport personnel at the Traze Help Desk/Malasakit Help Desk to avail of the food pack, it said.The program will run until August 20, CAAP said.*

Mayor Evelio Leonardia said Thursday, August 12, that there has been a steady decline of COVID-19 infections in Bacolod City during the last two weeks, but he appealed to the public not to let their guard down because the COVID spread is difficult to predict."While we welcome the decline at a time when cases are surging in other areas, we should not let our guard down because the pattern of COVID infections is unpredictable. It's been a roller coaster ride with COVID since early last year," Leonardia said.Real-time data shows only two-digit new cases in Bacolod in the last 14 days, averaging 36 cases per day, City Administrator Em Ang, Emergency Operations Center executive director, said.In June, Bacolod was registering three-digit new cases daily, averaging 119 per day, but ne...

A Department of Health national biosurveillance report placed Bacolod City under Alert Level 3 for COVID-19 and Negros Occidental under Alert Level 2, Bacolod City Administrator Em Ang said Sunday, August 8.Alert Level 3 means case counts are high and or increasing with health care capacity utilization up, the DOH said.Ang, however, noted that COVID-19 cases in Bacolod City and health care utilization have dropped in recent weeks. Bacolod’s active COVID-19 cases were also down to three digits, with 868 cases on Sunday.The DOH said Alert Level 2 means case counts are low and decreasing but health care utilization is increasing.Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz questioned Negros Occidental’s being placed under Alert Level 2 when its hospitals are not fully occupied or o...

Five security men assigned to Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia have tested positive for COVID-19, City Administrator Em Ang said Sunday, August 8.The mayor, who had no close contact with the five, has tested negative for COVID-19, Ang, who is also executive director of the Bacolod Emergency Operations Center, said.Fourteen of 20 employees of the Bacolod Public Information Office earlier tested positive for COVID-19 and are still in quarantine.All 14 are asymptomatic, Ang said.Four other PIO employees tested negative, while two others have not been swabbed for testing, she added.The Bacolod PIO at the Bacolod City Government Center remains locked down.Nineteen of the 20 PIO employees had been vaccinated against COVID-19, Ang said.She attributed the fact that the PI...

File photoA 19-year-old Negrense wanting to return to Negros Occidental recently submitted a fake COVID-19 negative RT-PCR test report and certification, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Sunday, August 8.The fake certification alleged that it was from the Philippine Red Cross Molecular Laboratory in Mandaluyong City.The 19-year-old also submitted a fake S-PaSS (Safe, Swift and Smart Passage), which was not approved, Diaz added.The 19-year-old who was seeking permission to return to Negros by boat allegedly paid P2,000 for the certification.Executive Assistant to the governor Charina Magallanes Tan said the fake RT-PCR test certification was detected after it was noted that the document used different fonts from that of the Red Cross. They then checked the au...