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A tire that got lose from a 6x6 truck killed an elderly man who was walking on the side of the road at Barangay Cabahug, Cadiz City, on Tuesday, August 3.*Cadiz PNP photoA septuagenarian died after he was hit by a tire that flew off a truck at Langka Stop Alegria, Barangay Cabahug, Cadiz City in Negros Occidental on Tuesday, August 3.Killed was 71-year-old Bernardino Abad, a resident of Barangay Cabahug.The victim was walking on the side of the road from his house when the tire from the 6x6 truck got loose and hit him, the police report showed.The truck was driven by Reynaldo Derder, 37, who was on his way to Barangay Jerusalem after buying construction materials.The elderly victim succumbed to serious injuries to his spine and body. He expired at the hospital.Cpl ...

More than 800 policemen in Negros Occidental have received their Covid-19 shots.Lt. Abegael Donasco, Negros Occidental police information officer, said Tuesday, August 3, that policemen, who are considered frontliners, are also vulnerable to the virus.Of the 2,246 police force in the province, 830 uniformed and non-uniformed personnel have already been inoculated, police records show.Donasco said those vaccinated include 618 policemen from the different police stations, 100 from the Negros Occidental Provincial Mobile Force Company, and 112 from the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office headquarters.Of the vaccines, 244 received Johnson & Johnson shots, 214 their second doses, and 372 their first doses of AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Sinovac vaccines.Col. Romy Palg...

There may be a new design for the Negros Occidental Provincial Administration Center (PAC) to be built in Talisay City, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Wednesday, August 4.A new high-rise PAC was supposed to be built at Aguinaldo Street near the provincial Capitol in Bacolod City but a new design may be drawn up since the Talisay site has a wider area, he said.The PAC in Talisay will house the provincial government offices, but the Capitol building in Bacolod City will remain as the seat of government of the province, he said.The Capitol in Bacolod will be considered the seat of government of Negros Occidental and will be used for receiving diplomatic guests and holding formal functions, Diaz said.The governor will maintain offices at the Capitol and at the new...

Contributed photoThe Negros Occidental provincial government has fully vaccinated 8.8 percent of its 1.4 million residents targeted for COVID-19 vaccination, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Tuesday, August 3.Those fully vaccinated are 123,734, he said.The provincial government has vaccinated 82.9 or 18,628 of its targeted A1 health care workers, 30 percent or 36,483 of its A2 senior citizens and 134 percent or 68,623 of its A3 persons with comorbidities, he said.This week the provincial government began rolling out 50,000 Sinovac doses for A4 economic frontliners, Diaz said.He said while they have completed vaccinating their A3 targets, there has been a low percentage of senior citizens vaccinated because of their hesitancy and lack of mobility.They are...

The House Committee on Appropriations approved Wednesday morning, August 4, a bill co-authored by Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Benitez (Negros Occidental, 3rd District) that “aims to cultivate and grow creative industries as drivers of economic recovery and national pride, and support artists and artisans”.Benitez, who also co-sponsored House Bill No. 8101 as vice chair of the Special Committee on Creative Industries and Performing Arts along with chairman Christopher De Venecia of Pangasinan, thanked the committee for its approval.Following its passage by the appropriations committee, it is now ready for second reading once congress resumes after the lockdown, Benitez said.The bill will articulate the need for support to industries such as fashion, food and heritage tourism, handicra...

Three mayors in Negros Occidental have pledged to support the mounting call for Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio to run for president in the May 2022 elections, retired P/Col. William Señoron, ABC- Padayon Sara Movement- Negros Occidental convenor, said.They are mayors Mark Golez of Silay City, Rhumyla Nicor Mangilimutan of La Castellana and Nadie Arceo of Hinigaran, Señoron said in a press release.The declarations of three local chief executives were made during the series of courtesy calls made by the Alliance and Broadcasting Committee (ABC)- Padayon Sara Movement – Negros Occidental led by Señoron.During the group’s meeting with mayors Mangilimutan and Arceo on Monday, August 2, Señoron said the two local chief executives were also supported by their respective munic...

The Negros Occidental provincial government has repaired and upgraded its oxygen plant at the Teresita L. JaLandoni Provincial Hospital (TLJPH) compound in Silay City to increase its production, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Tuesday, August 3.The increase in oxygen production comes as other areas in the country are experiencing shortages in supply amid COVID-19 surges.The Negros Occidental provincial government will be ready if the demand for oxygen in its hospitals increases, because aside from its plant it also has suppliers who are ready to provide for its needs, he said.The Silay plant’s target is to produce oxygen for 1,540 tanks a month, he said.The TLJPH, Cadiz District Hospital and Valladolid District Hospital consume 1,200 tanks of oxygen a month, so...

CAAP-Bacolod photoNegros Occidental and Bacolod City are set to rollout 78,510 doses of COVID-19 vaccines that arrived Saturday, July 31.The Capitol received 50,000 more Sinovac vaccines, which rollout in the 31 Negros Occidental towns and cities will begin this week, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.The provincial government will also administer second dose AstraZeneca vaccines in August, he added.Bacolod City received 25,000 doses of Sinovac and 3,510 doses of Pfizer vaccines that were immediately brought to its Cold Room facility at the Bacolod City Government Center.Bacolod has received 193,850 combined doses of Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Pfizer vaccines from the national government so far.On top of this allocation, the city has...