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Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon during the virtual signing of the deed of usufruct with Iloilo City Mayor Gerry Treñas.*The Iloilo City government has provided the Commission on Elections with land for its Western Visayas Integrated Field Office.Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas and Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon signed a deed of usufruct on Friday, August 6.The building to be built by the Comelec on the site will not only serve Iloilo but the entire Western Visayas, Guanzon said on Sunday, August 8.This is a realization of the Comelec’s strategic plan to construct its own main building and field offices to improve morale, efficiency and independence, she said.The deed allows the Comelec to use a 1,190-square meter lot owned by the Ioilo City government in Brgy....

Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Benitez (Negros Occidental, 3rd District) and Silay City Mayor Mark Golez congratulated Riah Angelica de Ocampo who made it to the top 10 in the Miss Philippines Earth 2021 virtual pageant finals held on Sunday, August 8.Benitez congratulated de Ocampo of Silay City, Negros Occidental, for a strong Top 10 finish. “Bugal ka sang (you are the pride of Third District”, he said.Golez also congratulated de Ocampo on behalf of the entire Silay City. “We are proud of you,” he said.“De Ocampo brought honor and glory to the city for representing it with class and brilliance. She surely made every Silaynon proud. She didn't only put Silay City in the national stage but she also excellently embodied every Silaynon's passion - representing our rich cultural history wi...

The Negros Occidental Promotion and Information Section at the Capitol in Bacolod City will reopen Monday, August 9, after the bulk of its employees tested negative for COVID-19, Executive Assistant to the Governor Charina Magallanes-Tan, PIS officer-in-charge, said Sunday, August 8.She said 11 PIS employees were tested for COVID-19 after a cameraman tested positive last week.Of the 11, one more PIS employee tested positive and has been isolated. He has allergies and had not been vaccinated against COVID-19 because he was waiting for advice from his doctor, Tan said.The 10 others who tested negative and the cameraman had received their first dose of AstraZeneca vaccines, she said.*

BCPO photoMore than P1 million worth of drugs were again recovered in separate buy-bust operations in Bacolod City during the weekend.Nabbed at Purok Riverside, Zone 3, Brgy. Banago, on Saturday night, August 7, was Allan Sadia, 32, of the village, and Johnny Gonzaga, 54, of Prk. Ylac, Brgy 1.Confiscated were 11 sachets containing suspected shabu worth P680,000 and weighing 100 grams, P1,000 boodle money, and drug paraphernalia.In another buy-bust operation, Tommy Flores was arrested at Barangay 8 on Sunday, August 8.Recovered from his possession were several sachets of suspected shabu weighing 50 grams amounting to P340,000.The suspects, who are now in police custody, are facing drug charges.The drug operations came few days after the police also netted P1 mil...

City PIO photoThe Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has suspended the shortened quarantine period for fully vaccinated close contacts of probable or confirmed COVID-19 cases, it announced Wednesday, August 11.This means from a shortened seven-day quarantine period, fully vaccinated individuals that have been in close contact with probable or confirmed COVID-19 cases will be quarantined for 14 days, it said.If the fully vaccinated individuals remain asymptomatic after 14 days, their quarantine will end, the IATF-EID said.If they manifest COVID-19 symptoms or test positive they will be brought to an isolation or treatment facility, it added.Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrado Diaz said the provincial gove...

Retired Negros Occidental Provincial Agriculturist Japhet Masculino can still avail of his retirement benefits from the Government Service Insurance System even if the provincial government is pursuing charges against him, Provincial Legal Officer Alberto Nellas Jr. said Wednesday, August 11.The PLO served formal charges for grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, falsification of an official document and gross neglect against Masculino on Tuesday, Nellas said.The charges stem from the unpaid catering services for Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) trainers training activities in 2018 totaling about P1 million.Nellas said no money was dispersed by the provincial government,but there were discrepancies in the documentation.Masculino said he is in a period of discernm...