Top Stories

Negros Occidental has no plan to close its borders with Iloilo after three highly transmissible Omicron sub-variant BA.2.12.1 cases were detected there, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said Wednesday, May 18.“We’ll have to observe how it goes,” he said, pointing out that the sub-variant has been detected not only in Western Visayas but in other parts of the country.COVID-19 admissions in hospitals are very low so most likely these are very mild cases, he said.“In the meantime, we don’t intend to close our borders, I think it’s too early for that. Let’s just do our share and protect ourselves,” Lacson said.Right now there is really no reason for large crowds to converge because the campaign period is over, he said.He stressed the need to continue to wear face masks.Two Omic...

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat and Hanky Lee (right) with Joey Gaston at the Chapel of the Cartwheels in Manapla.*Ronnie Baldonado photoTourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said she brought hotelier Hanky Lee to Negros Occidental on Wednesday in the hope that he will invest in the province.“I hope he really decides to put up a hotel here,” said Puyat, who was in Negros Occidental on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 17 and 18.Lee is the owner and founder of the Filipino vintage-modern The Henry hotels, that have stories to tell of the localities they are located in, she said, citing the rich heritage Negros Occidental has to offer.Lee was so surprised with what he saw, he wants to return to Negros and bring his friends, she said.Local and foreign tourists...

The new Provincial Administration Center (PAC) could still be built at Aguinaldo Street in Bacolod City, and not in Talisay City as planned.That is because if it is built on property owned by the provincial government in Talisay City the Government Procurement and Policy Board has ruled that a rebidding would have to be conducted, and it is not certain if the winning contractor, Dynamic Builders, will agree to that, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said Wednesday, May 18.Ricardo Yanson Jr. is the president of Dynamic Builders.Lacson said he is waiting for the reply of the contractor, which he hopes to receive before the end of the month.The contractor is holding a legitimate contract to build the PAC in Bacolod so his reply is needed, he added.They will proceed depending on the...

The Negros Occidental provincial government will start distributing the P91 million assistance of the National Housing Authority to the Typhoon “Odette” victims of the province next week, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said Wednesday, May 18.The distribution was put on hold during the March 25 to May 8 election ban.It is expected that each family affected by the typhoon in December 2021 will receive P5,000 each, based on lists of recipients submitted by local government units.Lacson said the provincial government received the NHA Memorandum of Agreement for the distribution of the assistance on April 20 during the election ban.To seek an exemption from the ban they were told by the Comelec to deposit a fee of P10,000 and hearings would have to be conducted, Lacson said.Consid...

Martian Muyco photoThe Robredo People’s Council of Negros Occidental and Bacolod City said they are alarmed by the Vote Counting Machine (VCM) malfunctions, massive vote buying and other campaign violations and malpractices that occurred with wanton impunity during the campaign period and the May 9 polls.All of these served to diminish the credibility of the electoral process, the RPC statement signed by Rafael Coscolluela – RPC Negros convenor and Jessie Suarez – RPC Bacolod convenor that was released Wednesday, May 18, said.They said they are still keenly observing the outcome of the random manual audit being done now by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Manila.“We are interested in comparing the results of the random manual audit with the election returns and the ...

The onset of the rainy season over the western sections of Luzon and Visayas has began, Administrator Vicente Malano of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Wednesday, May 18.“The presence of a frontal system and the occurrence of severe thunderstorms have brought widespread rains during the last five days in areas under Type I climate and other parts of the country. Moreover, southwesterly windflow was also observed during the past few days. This satisfies the criteria of the start of the rainy season over the western sections of Luzon and Visayas,” Malano said in a press statement.Intermittent rains, associated with the Southwest (SW) monsoon will start to affect Metro Manila and the western sections of the country, he sai...

Maria Adeline Prado photoTen farm laborers loading sugarcane on a truck at Purok Concordia, Brgy Ma-ao, Bago City, Negros Occidental, were injured when they were hit by lightning at about 3 p.m. Tuesday, May 17.Two of the 10 appeared to be in critical condition, PSSgt Armando Arao Jr. said.Micheal Cahilo, the driver of the truck, and his helper Bryan Della Cruz, said 16 farm workers were harvesting and loading sugarcane on the truck parked on the side of the road starting 1 p.m. but the weather turned bad and heavy rain fell at about 3 p.m., Arao added.When lightning struck the 10 of the 16 farm laborers who took shelter under the truck were hit, the driver said.Cahilo said he did not know that they were hit by the lighting until he looked out of the window of his truck...

Silay City mayor-elect Joedith Gallego took his oath before Judge Eunice Cuansing on Tuesday, May 17.*Rey Siason photoJoedith Gallego took his oath as mayor-elect of Silay City, Negros Occidental, before Judge Eunice Cuansing Tuesday, May 17, and outlined the priorities of his administration.Councilors-elect Michael Siason Maravilla, Maximo Javelona III, Darryl Hinolan and Jose Lopez Jr. also took their oaths.Silay councilors-elect Michael Siason Maravilla, Maximo Javelona III, Darryl Hinolan and Jose Lopez Jr. take their oaths.*Gallego won with 37,643 votes defeating incumbent Mayor Mark Golez who garnered 34,725 votes.He thanked the people of Silay for their support and appealed for their cooperation as he carries out programs and projects for the good of their city...