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Bacolod Mayor Evelo Leonardia and Acting Australian Ambassador Richard Sisson.*Bacolod PIO photo“What a vibrant city this is. There is a mix of historic buildings and new infrastructures here.”This was the first impression of Bacolod City by Acting Australian Ambassador Richard Sisson, when he and his fellow Embassy officials made a courtesy call on Mayor Evelio Leonardia at the Bacolod City Government Center today, June 29, a press release from the Bacolod Public Information Office said.Sisson and his party, composed of First Secretary Georgina Harley-Cavanough, Security Services Manager Sandy Labrador, and Research Officer Amanda Fidelino of the Australian Embassy in Manila, are on official visit to Bacolod City and other places in Negros Occidental this week.The mayor ho...

Hard work paid off, the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City ranked fifth place among Level III DOH-retained Hospitals, CLMMRH announced Tuesday, June 29.The Department of Health in Memorandum 2021-0055A said CLMMRH is one of its top Level 3 hospitals in terms of performance evaluation that makes use of a stringent set of guidelines that is evaluated independently by the AO25 Inter Agency Task Force, it said.Through this, CLMMRH qualified plantilla employees are eligible to receive 57.5 percent of their 2018 basic salary as a reward for their hard work and dedication to the overall performance of the hospital, by ensuring accessible, safe and affordable patient care to all patients, the announcement said.*

Bacolod DRRMO photoInbound international travelers who were fully vaccinated in the Philippines, regardless of their travel history, and those fully vaccinated from other countries who stayed exclusively in “green” countries or jurisdictions 14 days prior to arrival in the country, will be able to enjoy a shorter quarantine period, effective July 1, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said Tuesday, July 29.The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) finalized the guidelines on inbound international travel for fully vaccinated individuals in its meeting on Monday, Roque said.The Department od Health will come out with a list of the green countries or jurisdictions, which are tagged as low risk for COVID-19, he said.Individuals are considered fully vaccinated two or more weeks after re...

Negros Occidental and Bacolod City will be under general community quarantine (GCQ) in July, one notch stricter than its current modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).This was announced by presidential spokesman Harry Roque during President Rodrigo’s Weekly Talk to the people aired live Monday night, June 28.Also placed under GCQ for July in Western Visayas are Guimaras, Aklan, Antique and Capiz.Iloilo City, Iloilo province and Negros Oriental will remain under modified enhance community quarantine (MECQ) until July 15.Mayor Evelio Leonardia Monday night said he was not aware that Bacolod had been placed under GCQ, but it would mean further limiting of persons at public venues, which has already been implemented in Bacolod City even while under MECQ.Not allowed under...

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has warned the Negros Occidental provincial government to complete 23 communal irrigation projects or lose the P45.4 million allocated for them, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Monday, June 28.The DA on Friday, June 25, furnished the provincial government with a list of the 23 projects that were supposed to have been completed from 2014 to 2017 under the supervision of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA), Diaz said.A show cause order will be issued to Provincial Agriculturist Japhet Masculino to explain the unfinished projects, and the Capitol will also blacklist the 17 contactors of the 23 communal irrigation projects if they fail to finish them by December 2021, Diaz said.The provincial government will then terminat...

The Pfizer mass vaccination at the Negros Residences Monday.*Richard Malihan photoNegros Occidental and Bacolod City will receive 42,600 doses of Sinovac vaccines on Wednesday, Dr. Mary Jane Juanico, head of the infectious disease section of the Department of Health in Western Visayas, said Monday, June 28.She said Negros Occidental will receive 34,800 doses and Bacolod City will get 7,800 doses.Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said the mass vaccination still only covers persons under the A1 to A3 categories - health workers, senior citizens and persons with comorbidities.They still have not been given the go signal by the national government to include economic frontline workers who fall under the A4 category, he said.The Negros Occidental provincial governme...

A wayward pickup truck slammed into parked vehicles and a sari-sari store beside the national highway in Barangay Mabini, Valladolid, Negros Occidental, Monday morning, June 28, that left three people injured.*Mark Cabrillos photoThree people were injured when a wayward pickup truck hit parked vehicles and a sari-sari store beside the national highway in Barangay Mabini, Valladolid, Negros Occidental, Monday morning, June 28.The pickup driver identified as Rolly Laguna, 50, of Bagong Barrio, Caloocan City, may have fallen asleep behind the wheel which caused him to lose control of the vehicle, police said.The pickup truck crashed into a multicab, tricycle and motorcycle that were parked on the side of the road, then into the sari-sari store.The accident left sari-sari stor...

The creation of a second congressional district for Bacolod City in time for the May 2022 elections is no longer possible, is dead, Councilor Al Victor Espino said Monday, June 28.House Bill No. 566 and House Bill No. 537 filed by Bacolod Rep. Greg Gasataya and Abang Lingkod Rep. Stephen Paduano in the 18th Congress seeking the creation of the second congressional district are pending before the House Committee on Local Government.Espino, who had hoped that they would be passed into law, said there is no more time to do it now with the polls fast approaching.He wanted a second congressional district for Bacolod City for economic reasons and not for political accommodation of anybody, Espino said.This is because the Internal Revenue Allotment of Local Government Units is com...