Top Stories

Persons aged 10 to 65 can go out of their homes starting February 1 in areas that are under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque announced today, January 22.Negros Occidental and Bacolod City are currently under MGCQ and may remain under the same quarantine status in February.Bacolod vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran said the city government will comply with the new guidelines but reiterated the need to strictly observe minimum health protocols.Some children have been seen outside their home without face masks and shields, he said, stressing that their parents should ensure that they observe the COVID-19 health protocols for their own safety and to prevent the spread of the virus.Minors who go to public places, like malls, should ...

A couple was arrested by authorities in a drug bust operation at Barangay Banago, Bacolod City, Sunday night, January 24.Nabbed were 22-year-old Gicelle Pilaro, a street-level individual, and her partner Jerome Altarios, 22.The suspects yielded seven sachets of suspected shabu worth P102,000, and the P500 marked money.They are now detained at Police Station 3 and facing drug charges.*

Capitol photoBacolod City and Negros Occidental have the lowest number of drug cleared barangays in Western Visayas, and a Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency official said they are stepping up efforts to address the problem amid concern raised by Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson.Director II Donelyn Hemedez, PDEA Western Visayas assistant regional director, told the participants of a Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Summit at the Negros Residences in Bacolod City today, January 22, that 80.30 percent of the barangays in Region 6 were cleared from drugs in 2020.However, only 12 of the 61 barangays in Bacolod City or 19.67 percent have been cleared, she said.In Negros Occidental, 222 of its 601 barangays have been cleared of drugs or only 36.94 percent, she added.The governor said he c...

The Department of the Interior and Local Government expects city and municipal governments to complete road clearing activities before February 16, Roselyn Quintana, DILG Negros Occidental OIC provincial director, said today, January 22.“Since the validation will start February 16, which was an extension already, we expect LGUs (local government units) to have conducted clearing activities before that date,” she said.She said the DILG is conducting continuous monitoring of the ongoing road clearing operations.The DILG had extended the deadline to clear roads across the country of obstructions, following the request of local governments.LGU officials said road clearing work had been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had been their priority concern.*

A woman was shot and killed by her cousin in Barangay Pandan, Pontevedra, Negros Occidental, Thursday night, January 21.Killed was 43-year-old Ana Oñas, while injured was her other cousin, 51-year-old Georgelyn Linigao, and companion, 55-year-old Jesselino Duaban.Based on the initial police investigation, the victims were on their way home when they were waylaid by the suspects, 41-year-old Pedro Oñas, and his accomplice, 39-year-old Nelson Espadera.Pedro then shot Ana with a .45 caliber pistol. She sustained two gunshot wounds to her abdomen and another on her right leg.Linigao sustained three gunshot wounds in her private area, while Duaban was shot two times on the left side of his abdomen.The victims were rushed to the Don Salvador Benedicto Hospital in La Carlota ...

The decision of Vallacar Transit Inc. to reduce by 50 percent the tripping allowance of its Ceres Liner drivers and conductors starting this month was made in consultation with their union leaders, a VTI statement said today, January 22.“This tripping allowance was given unilaterally last year as an act of generosity by the management,” VTI said, in response to a strike staged by some Ceres Liner drivers and conductors in Victorias City, Negros Occidental, Thursday, January 21.“While some factions of the Victorias drivers and conductors may not like the decision, most of the company drivers and conductors understand that, as members of one family, they need to do whatever they can” to help keep the company afloat, the statement said.During a labor-management meeting, they ...

Bacolod DRRM photoThe Negros Occidental provincial government is eyeing raps for falsification of public documents against five returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs), while blood samples will be extracted from a Pontevedra couple tomorrow, January 22, to determine if they have been infected with the United Kingdom COVID-19 variant.The couple and their son, who arrived in the Philippines on December 30 from London, via Istanbul, are facility quarantined in Pontevedra, Mayor Jose Maria Alonso said.The couple tested negative for the virus in Manila on December 31.However, on their arrival in Negros Occidental on January 16 they were swabbed again and the test results released on January 18 showed that they were positive for COVID-19, the mayor added.The couple, who are asym...

Bacolod DRRM photoThree persons in Bacolod City, who were on the Emirates flight from Dubai that arrived in Manila on January 7 with the first Filipino found positive for the United Kingdom COVID-19 variant, have tested negative for the virus.The results were released today, January 21, Dr. Chris Sorongon, Bacolod Emergency Operations Center medical deputy for data analysis and assessment, said.All three had also tested negative for COVID-19 in Manila on January 8 but were retested in Bacolod on Wednesday, January 20, Sorongon said.As soon as they finish their 14-day home quarantines along with their families, the sealing off of their houses will be lifted by their respective barangay officials after they are cleared by cluster doctors, he said.Two of them are in Baran...