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3ID photoFour alleged ranking members of the New People’s Army in Negros Oriental surrendered to the Philippine Army’s 11th Infantry Battalion on Saturday, August 7.Lt. Col. Roderick Salayo, 11IB commanding officer, identified the surrenderees as alias Jango, and alias Jay, both members of the Regional Striking Force (RSF), Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros Cebu Bohol Siquijor (KR-NCBS), alias Rodel, vice squad leader of Squad 3, Central Negros 2, and alias Bong, the remaining squad leader of the dismantled South East Front.Alias Bong also surrendered his .45 caliber pistol with 22 live ammunition, while alias Rodel yielded a .45 caliber pistol with six live ammunition.“We are having a hard time in the hinterlands because we have no place to hide. The people are no longer supporting ...

Photo from Em Ang FBBacolod City will use the 14,980 doses of Moderna vaccines it received Tuesday, August 10, for residents who fall under four categories of the national government’s priority list, City Administrator Em Ang said Tuesday, August 10It will be used for those under A1 - health care workers, A2 - senior citizens, A3 - persons with comorbidities and A5 - indigent population, she said.It cannot be used for A4 frontline economic workers, she said.However, if the workers belong to the indigent population, they can be vaccinated, she added.Bacolod City also received 10,000 Sinovac vaccines on Tuesday.Ang said she believes the COVID-19 cases in Bacolod City have dropped because the risk of the vulnerable sectors who have been vaccinated has been eliminated. ...

Improvements are being made at the Negros Occidental Capitol in Bacolod City as the transfer of the provincial government offices to Talisay City may take several years yet, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Thursday, August 12.Diaz inspected Thursday the third comfort room at the Capitol that underwent renovation.He said the airconditioned comfort rooms were improved at no expense to the province, he and Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson financed the work done.The improvements were made for the comfort of the Capitol employee and guests, he said.He said the transfer of the Capitol offices to Talisay City where a new Provincial Administration Center will be built could take two to three years yet, depending on the COVID-19 situation.COVID-19 has slowed construction wo...

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...