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COVID-19 has caused the temporary lockdown of a mall and two banks in Kabankalan City, Mayor Pedro Zayco said Monday, May 31.Zayco said the Gaisano mall temporary closed last week but a section has since reopened with a skeleton force.The Gaisano stores closed temporarily, but those of the tenants at the mall remained open, he said.He said about 63 employees from the mall and others who were contact traced have tested positive for the virus. Only the Gaisano employees who have tested negative have been allowed to return to work, he added.The city government shouldered the cost of the mass testing of all of its employees, and conducted massive contact tracing, Zayco said.He said 12 employees of the BDO branch at Guanzon Street and one at the Philippine National Bank in K...

Negros Occidental Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer is the richest member of the Negros Occidental Sangguniang Panlalawigan with a net worth of P106,538,000.This was contained in a report on the 2020 Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) of the 16 members of the SP prepared by the SP secretary, lawyer Maki Angel Ascalon, that was released Monday, May 31.Thirteen board members are millionaires, too, the report showed.The net worth of the board members are: Rita Gatuslao (5th District) – P36.2 million, Andrew Montelibano ( 3rd District) – P24. 3 million, Valentino Miguel Alonso (6th District) –P16.5 million, Frederick Manuel Ko ( 3rd District) - P12.9 million;Sixto Teofilo Guanzon ( 2nd District) – P12.4 million, Ryan Gamboa (Provincial Councilors League) – P10.2...

Three men were killed, while two others, including a teenager, were injured in separate shooting incidents in Negros Occidental during the weekend.In Victorias City, Regie Loquinario and Jony Solatorio, both 34, were shot dead in a commotion with fellow farm workers following a drinking session at Hacienda Basa 2, Barangay 10, on Saturday, May 29.The shooting also wounded a 17-year-old boy, whose name was withheld by the police, and Ryan Certicio, 28, both residents of the village.In a follow-up operation, one of the five suspects, who also yielded a homemade gun, was arrested.The police are looking at a grudge as the motive of the incident.In another incident, 27-year-old Raymund Pasigado was killed in his residence at Barangay Sagasa, Bago City, Sunday night, May 30. ...

Ferrer and BenitezNegros Occidental Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer said he is not running for vice mayor of Bacolod City.The period for him to register to vote in Bacolod City in order to qualify to run for a post in the city has lapsed, he said.Streamers had earlier surfaced in Bacolod urging him to run for vice mayor along with former Rep. Alfredo Benitez for mayor.In order to comply with the one year residency requirement before the next election he needed to transfer his registration to vote to Bacolod on May 8 this year, Ferrer said.The elections are set on May 9, 2022.*

Photo from Joseph Celis FBThe National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) in Western Visayas has commended the EB Magalona police for its improvements, two weeks after some of its personnel were caught sleeping on the job following a surprise inspection.NAPOLCOM Region 6 director Joseph Celis again visited the EB Magalona Police Station on Saturday, May 29, and was upbeat with the development.“All duty personnel were present in the station,” he said.He was happy with the renovation work in the facility, noting the improvement to the roof and ceiling, newly painted walls, improve comfort rooms, and the planting of vegetables outside of the station, which was sponsored by the local government.On his May 14 visit to the EB Magalona police station, Celis said that there was “no d...

The vice mayor of Dumaguete City, who recently recovered from COVID-19, collapsed during a bike-for-a-cause activity at past 7 a.m. Sunday, May 30, and was pronounced dead at the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital about two hours later.Vice Mayor Alan Gel Cordova, 53, who joined a bike-for-a-cause activity of the Army’s 302nd Brigade from Tanjay, suffered severe chest pains in front of St. Paul’s University, Dumaguete Councilor Joe Kenneth Arbas said.He was biking beside Col. Leonardo Peña, 302nd Brigade commander.Cordova was rushed to the NOPH where doctors tried to revive him for two hours, Arbas said.The vice mayor and his whole family had tested positive for COVID-19. He recovered on Tuesday and returned to work on Thursday, Arbas said.The vice mayor, a 1989 gradua...

The CLMMRH COVID-19 Critical Care Unit*The COVID-19 positivity rate is on the rise in Bacolod City, it is very alarming, Dr. Julius Drilon, Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) chief, said Sunday, May 30.The dedicated beds for COVID-19 confirmed cases at the wards and Critical Care Unit of CLMMRH in Bacolod City have reached full capacity, he said.The emergency room of the hospital will no longer accept COVID-19 patients except for extreme emergency cases until further notice, he said.COVID-19 patients are advised to avail of services from other hospitals in the province, he said.The hospital will resume acceptance of COVID-19 patients once hospital beds become available, Drilon added.There are also 26 CLMMRH staff who are currently positiv...