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The Sipalay City Government Center will be temporarily closed starting Monday, June 28, until further notice.All government employees are expected to continue to remain in their residences and to limit their exposure to the public, a Sipalay City advisory said Sunday.“We are asking for your consideration and continued adherence to minimum health protocols,” it added.Sipalay Mayor Ma. Gina Lizares said she ordered the closure “to accommodate additional contact tracing among our employees because the results do not arrive all at the same time.”She said ten employees at the government center have tested positive for COVID-19, and there are also others assigned at the City Health Office, Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office and the motorpool who have also been hit by the v...

Coast Guard photoThe body of the 17-year-old boy who drowned in a river at Barangay San Vicente, Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, was recovered Friday night, June 25.The victim, along with his five friends, swam in the river at Purok Solidad and was swept away by the strong current on June 24.The victim was believed to have experienced cramps and drowned, the police report said.The cadaver was then brought to a funeral parlor.*

Lady Justice stands guard at the Bacolod Hall of Justice grounds*Two Bago City residents were separately sentenced recently to 40 years imprisonment for rape and murder.Regional Trial Court of Bago Branch 62 Judge Frances V. Guanzon, who is set to retire on July 1, meted the penalty of reclusion perpetua on John Mark Daquitil de Guzman, alias Macmac, for rape, and Robert Vicente Sevilla for murder.De Guzman, a butcher, was found guilty of raping a 17-year-old girl five times in Barangay Ma-ao, Bago City, in May 2018.De Guzman, who was the live-in partner of his victim’s cousin, was sentenced to five counts of reclusion perpetua, or 40 years imprisonment and ordered to pay the complainant P75,000 in moral damages.Meanwhile, Sevilla was found guilty of murdering Jose Jaci...

Hinigaran PNP photoA father and son were arrested for illegal possession of firearms at San Roque in Barangay Gargato, Hinigaran, Negros Occidental, Saturday, June 26.Nabbed were 47-year-old Panfilo Jordan and his son, July Jordan, of Barangay Miranda, Pontevedra.The two suspects were pursued by the police and the Philippine Coast Guard for illegal fishing in the municipal waters.When they were arrested, they yielded a homemade 9mm pistol and one magazine, and one homemade .38 caliber revolver, both loaded with live ammunition.The suspects are now in police custody and will face charges for illegal possession of firearms.*

Bacolod Councilor Elmer Sy who was undergoing dialysis twice a week and was up for a kidney transplant passed away at the Bacolod Adventist Medical Center in Bacolod City Friday, June 25.“We take note that Councilor Elmer was a COVID-19 victim and we should be reminded how dangerous our times are. May he serve as a medium for all of us to remember that we must always follow health protocols,” Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia said.Sy, 65, was hit with COVID-19 last week and was suffering from numerous other ailments, a colleague of his said.Leonardia said they were stunned by the news that Sy had passed away.“We lost a dedicated public servant…he lived up to his words ‘less talk, more action’…that was how he performed,” Leonardia said.“Our people had elected him again and ...

Bacolod resident Ann Ledesma tied yellow ribbons on her gate in honor of former president Benigno Aquino III.*Yellow ribbons in front of the house of Paz Gonzaga Benares at Santa Clara Subdivision in Bacolod City.*A mass for former president Benigno Aquino III and a floral offering will be held at the San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod City at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 26, on the day he will be laid to rest.Aquino, 61, succumbed to renal disease secondary to diabetes on Thursday.Paghimud-os Negros, a coalition of concerned citizens and cause oriented groups is sponsoring the mass and is urging those who will attend to be dressed in yellow or black.“This is our chance to join the nation in praying for President Noynoy and in grieving for the loss of the beloved president who s...

Two more infectious COVID-19 variants have been detected in Negros Oriental, Dr. Liland Estacion, Assistant Provincial Health Officer, said Thursday, June 24.They are the P.3 or Theta variant, a local mutation first reported in Central Visayas, and the Alpha variant, also known as the B.1.1.7, that was first detected in the United Kingdom, Estacion said in a virtual presser.The B.1.1.7 variant is 40 to 80 percent more transmittable, she saidEstacion said she received a report from the Philippine Genome Center on Thursday morning that of the sample specimens taken from COVID-19 positive cases in Negros Oriental for testing, two of them came back positive for the mutations.The person infected with the Theta variant is from Dumaguete City and has recovered, while the Alpha var...

PIMT photoSeventeen local government units in Negros Occidental were among the top performers who utilized 100 percent of the Sinovac vaccines allocated for their areas in June.There were 14,908 Sinovac jabs administered on Negrenses from July 16 to June 22, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Friday, June 25.Diaz said the 2,827 vaccines delivered on June 16 were fully utilized.He also said that of 11,971 Sinovac doses delivered from June 17 to 22 , there were 11,271 that were utilized.The LGUs who utilized 100 percent of the vaccines delivered to them were San Carlos City, Calatrava, Cadiz City, Sagay City, Talisay City, Silay City, Murcia, Bago City, Pulupandan, San Enrique, La Carlota City, Pontevedra, Isabela, Moses Padilla, Candoni, Ilog and Sipalay City. ...