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The Negros Occidental provincial government is ready to grant Christmas bonuses to its employees if President Rodrigo Duterte issues and order allowing it, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.He said the provincial government needs the legal basis to grant the bonus, which in the past was based on awards given to the province.The awards allowed the provincial government to grant incentive bonuses, he said.However, the granting of awards had been suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.If the president orders that across the bonuses can be given to all government employees, the Capitol is preparing and saving for that, he said.The amount of the additional bonus will also depend on the savings of the provincial government at the end of the year, ...

Victorias Malihaw photoMayor Francis Frederick Palanca of Victorias City in Negros Occidental is back to work after recovering from COVID-19.Palanca said he returned to work Tuesday, November 10, and his four other companions were also back Thursday, November 12.“It’s good to be functional again because there is a lot of work to do”, he said.“I thank God for the opportunity to be well again,” he said.Palanca said perhaps he was made to experience having the virus so he could advise people better.It is important to practice social distancing, to wear face masks and shields, and wash one's hands often, he said.Palanca and seven of his companions who travelled to Bacolod together on a van tested positive for COVID-19 earlier.*

BCPO photoTwelve first responders who rescued the victims of an accident involving an ambulance have been quarantined after the patient on board was confirmed to be COVID-19 positive, Bacolod City Administrator Em Ang said today, November 12.They were also swabbed for COVID-19 tests and results are expected to be out tomorrow, she said.Four of the first responders are from the Bacolod fire department, four from the EMR (Emergency Medical Responders) Raptor, and four from the Chamber Volunteer Fire Brigade (CVFB), she said.Two of the CVFB members entered the ambulance that figured in the accident to rescue the patient and two others accompanied him to the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital, their chief, Bryant Lao, said.The patient is a 78-year-old re...

303rd IB photoThe Philippine Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade at Camp Gerona in Murcia, Negros Occidental, and its line battalions are on alert for upcoming typhoons and any unwanted natural disasters that may occur in the province, Col. Inocencio Pasaporte said Thursday, November 12.Pasaporte, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, said he alerted the 34 Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HADR) teams from the 303rd Infantry Brigade, 62nd Infantry Battalion and 79th Infantry Battalion composed of 350 regular soldiers to be deployed in the 1st to 5th districts of Negros Occidental and 1st district of Negros Oriental.The HADR teams are trained in basic first aid, light and water search rescue operations and incident command systems by the Philippine Army, Office of Civil Def...

Roy Ortega photoA radio personality in Negros Oriental was arrested in a drug bust operation at Barangay Bagacay in Dumaguete City Wednesday night, November 11.Nabbed was Marlon Dela Cruz, also known as “Major Blanco, 44, of Valencia.During the bust, the suspect yielded 11 plastic sachets containing suspected shabu worth P40,800, the P500 buy-bust money, P450 in cash, a motorcycle, several drug paraphernalia, and a cellular phone, the police report showed.Police Captain Michael Rubia, head of the Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit, said they have been monitoring Dela Cruz for two weeks after they received a tip about his illegal activities.He said that the suspect was considered a high-value individual following his work in a radio station.Dela Cruz, who is detained ...

The P4.4 billion proposed 2021 budget of Negros Occidental is the first in six years that does not exceed the Department of Budget and Management cap on personal services, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said today, November 11.Diaz appeared before the Negros Occidental Sangguniang Panlalawigan that began its budget hearings Wednesday.Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer said four hearings are set in the next two weeks and they hope to approve the 2021 budget by the first week of December.Diaz said the proposed budget of Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson has been able to reduce the PS allocation that in the past exceeded the cap by P601 million.The reduction of the PS fund has enabled them to increase the amount allocated for maintenance and other operating expenses that will e...

Members of the Regional Oversight Committee on Dangerous Drugs-Western Visayas. PDEA-6 photoSipalay City topped the localities in Negros Occidental with the most number of drug-free barangays.During the recent 22nd Regional Oversight Committee on Dangerous Drugs-Western Visayas deliberations Sipalay marked its 12th drug-cleared barangay out of 17 in the city.The active implementation of the community-based rehabilitation program was among the priorities of Mayor Maria Gina Lizares in her first term of office, the local government said in a statement.During the deliberation, 60 barangays from Western Visayas were screened and assessed by the members of the committee chaired by Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Region 6 director Edgar Apalla.Representatives from the dif...

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said today, November 11, that it looks like Typhoon Ulysses will spare Negros Occidental.However, the province could be hit by some rain so all local government units should remain on alert level, he said.The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) reported at 5 p.m. today that Typhoon “Ulysses" continued to intensify as it threatens the Quezon-Aurora area.The typhoon will be experienced over Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte until tonight and over Aurora and the northern portion of Quezon tonight through early tomorrow morning, it said.There will be heavy rainfall between tonight and early tomorrow morning, November 12, over Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Metro Manila, CALABARZON...

Video grabbed from Rayner JusnicoAn ambulance driver was killed and four others were injured in a three-vehicle accident at Lacson-San Sebastian streets, Bacolod City, 1:15 p.m. today, November 11.Jessie James Tranilla, a South Bacolod General Hospital ambulance driver, was declared dead on arrival at a hospital, a Bacolod Police Station 1 report said.Injured were nurse Maria Nadala Cajeras, 30; the 78-year-old patient of Barangay Biniquil, Kabankalan City; and auxiliary worker Jose Francisco Manlosa Sombero of Barangay Sum ag, Bacolod City, who were on board the ambulance, the police said.The patient is a retired policeman hit by COVID-19 and was being transferred to the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital, Kabankalan Mayor Pedro Zayco said.Also inju...

“The fight against COVID-19 is the fight of every man, woman, and child. But it is only when we help each other and fight as one that we will also survive as one from this terrible scourge.”This was the statement of Mayor Evelio Leonardia as he encouraged the core team members of the Bacolod City Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to share their best practices with other local government units (LGUs), which are interested to put up similar anti-COVID response organizations in their areas.Since October, 14 LGUs in Negros Occidental and Region 6 have sent their officials to observe the daily workings at the Bacolod EOC, a press release from the Bacolod Information Office said.Last week, on the request of the San Carlos city government, the Bacolod EOC sent five of its core te...