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Contributed photoThe Philippine Army’s 79th Infantry Battalion (IB) based in Sagay City, Negros Occidental, installed its new commander Friday, May 28.Lt. Col.Gerard Alvaran turned over the leadership to Lt. Col. J-Jay Javines, who said that his efforts will always be geared towards achieving their mission while maintaining the morale and welfare of his troops, and professionalism and service excellence, at rites held at the 79th IB headquarters.He also assured stakeholders that the 79th IB will always be a partner in their collaborative pursuit of genuine peace and equitable development.Alvaran, who was also installed as the commander of the 82nd Infantry Battalion based in Cebu, that recently returned to their mother unit in the Visayas following their deployment in Minda...

Hospital-supervised home isolation for asymptomatic, mild or moderate COVID-19 cases in now allowed in Bacolod City.Mayor Evelio Leonardia issued Executive Order No. 28 Series of 2021 Wednesday, May 26, establishing the guidelines for supervised homecare that takes effect immediately.Leonardia, in the EO, said there has been a recent and continuing surge of COVID-19 cases in Bacolod City, and there is want of additional human resources for health, as well as isolation facilities and equipment.The EO states that only medical institutions may apply for accreditation through the Emergency Operations Center - Task Force (EOC-TF).The medical institutions must present guidelines and procedures, costs and other necessary details for home-based patient care, including provisions fo...

A show cause order has been issued to Provincial Agriculturist Japhet Masculino to explain the alleged delay in the payment by his office of about P1 million to a catering firm, Provincial Legal Officer Alberto Nellas Jr. said Thursday, May 27.Masculino already submitted his explanation, which is being assessed, Nellas said.The catering services were for Office of the Provincial Agriculturist trainor’s training activities in 2018, Masculino said.He said the paper work for the payment and negotiations with the catering firm is being undertaken.Meanwhile, the formal investigations of the cases against Provincial Budget Officer Jose Percival Salado Jr. and Ma. Mina Pellejo, former officer- in-charge of the Negros Occidental Comprehensive Health Program Division, have already b...

The League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) is appealing for the inclusion of more areas as priority recipients of COVID-19 vaccines, following the recent surge of infections in other high-risk cities, including Bacolod City.In a letter addressed to National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr., Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia, LCP national president, and Calapan City Mayor Arnan Panaligan, LCP secretary-general, expressed alarm over reports of surges in “Batangas, Pampanga, Region 2, and some areas in the Cordillera Administrative Region.”Reports have also noted a sharp increase in MIMAROPA and Western Visayas cases, including Calapan City, Bacolod City, Iloilo City, with the latter being placed under modified enhanced community quaran...

Talisay PIO photoNegros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said Thursday, May 27, that he has until Monday, May 31, to decide whether the Capitol should return to a five-day work week and if curfew hours in the province should be reduced.Lacson said he expects Negros Occidental to remain under Modified General Community Quarantine in June.He said the return to a five-day work week and reduced curfew hours will depend on the number of active COVID-19 cases in the province.The provincial government is currently operating under a four-day work week and curfew in Negros occidental is from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. to curb the spread of COVID-19.Negros Occidental had 1,336 active COVID-19 cases on Thursday. It has had 329 deaths and 12,967 recoveries from COVID-19 since March last y...

Capitol photoMore than 821,000 residents have registered for national identification cards in Negros Occidental as of May 21, a Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) official said Thursday, May 27.Luis Gonzales, PSA Negros Occidental chief statistical specialist, said they have exceeded more than 100 percent of their 800,000 target for the province.However, they are continuing their registration drive since the goal is to reach all Filipinos, he said.Registration is ongoing in Bacolod malls and in towns and cities of Negros Occidental.They are catering to persons who are 15 years old and above, he said.Negros Occidental and Bacolod City have a population of more than 3 million people.There may be a different system for the registration of those below 15 years ol...

Its official, the Negros First CyberCentre (NFCC) in Bacolod City will now be back under the management of the Negros Occidental provincial government, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said.The mutual termination agreement between the Negros Occidental provincial government and the Negros Property Management and Development Corp. (NPMDC) was signed Thursday, May 27, in virtual rites, he said.We will have a transition period, the provincial government will take over the management of the NFCC from NPMDC in June, he said.“In terms of income, we feel it will be more advantageous to the province if we are the ones managing it (NFCC),” he said.The NFCC will be placed under the Economic Enterprise Development Department of the provincial government.The provincial government had previ...

Local transport leader Diego Malacad is questioning the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board’s service contracting scheme.Malacad, secretary-general of United Negros Drivers and Operators Center, said Thursday, May 27, that he has doubts about the “legitimacy of the contract” since the program was supposed to be an assistance to the drivers as part of the national government’s Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2).Under the program, drivers and operators of public utility vehicles can enter into transport service contracts with the government to help ease the impact of the pandemic in the transport sector.In the agreement, the duties of LTFRB include monitoring the operation of the unit on a daily basis, providing a service plan, investigating any compla...