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A seven-day suspension of travel between Negros and Panay will cause a loss of about P50 million in revenues, Frank Carbon, chief executive officer of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Monday, May 17.Dr. Bea Camille Natalaray of the Department of Health in Western Visayas, on the other hand, said it will help bring down the number of COVID-19 cases in the region.It is an effort of local government units to help curb the number of COVID-19 cases as it will restrict movement of people, Natalaray said.But Carbon maintained that any halt to travel would hurt the economy and he does not believe Malacañang will approve it.People will loose their livelihoods and businesses will be affected, he said.The Western Visayas Regional Inter-Agency Task Force (RI...

HImamaylan PNP photoA man was stabbed and shot to death at Barangay Mahalang in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, on Sunday, May 16.The fatality was identified as Gody Lozano, 30.Based on the initial police investigation, two unidentified men fetched the victim from his house Saturday night, May 15.Successive gunshots were then heard from afar, his wife told the police.The next day, the body of the victim was discovered in a canal. He succumbed to nine gunshot wounds and two stab wounds.The police have yet to establish the motive for the killing.*

Pontevedra PNP photoA misunderstanding between two relatives led to the killing of a man at Barangay Pandan, Pontevedra, Negros Occidental, on Sunday, May 16.Killed was 38-year-old Teofilo Semillano.The victim and his 41-year-old uncle, Jhonito Semillano, were having a drinking session at the house of the victim when a misunderstanding ensued between them, a police report said.Based on the police report, the victim allegedly stoned the suspect, who retaliated by hacking his nephew.The victim was brought to Don Salvador Benedicto Hospital in La Carlota City where he was declared dead on arrival. He succumbed to multiple hack wounds.The suspect was arrested in the barangay in a pursuit operation.Semillano, who will face homicide charges, has a previous frustrated ...

The Western Visayas Regional Inter-Agency Task Force (RIATF) is seeking permission to suspend travel between Negros and Panay for seven-days to contain the rising spread of COVID-19.But businessmen are against the move because it will further hurt the local economy, Frank Carbon, chief executive officer of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Sunday, May 16.Thousands of people at the ports in Negros and Panay will be deprived of their sources of income, and businesses will further suffer, Carbon said.Carbon said he does not think the national IATF will approve the request because businesses have to survive to put money in the hands of the people.Businesses are closing faster than those that are reopening, Carbon said.The business sector was not consu...

Atty. Joseph Celis photoThe chief of police of the EB Magalona Police Station in Negros Occidental was relieved from his post Saturday, May 15, following a surprise inspection by the regional director of the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) in Western Visayas.Col. Romy Palgue, provincial police director, confirmed Sunday, May 15, that Lt. John Paul Tabujara, EB Magalona police chief, was transferred to the Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Police.An investigation of the EB Magalona police, including the six duty personnel, is underway, he said.Under its standard operating procedure, the chief of police or his deputy should always be present at the police station.Both were not around when NAPOLCOM Region 6 director Jose...

One department head, two executive assistants, and four other employees of the Negros Occidental provincial government have tested positive for COVID-19, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Sunday, May 16.This brings to 43 the total number of active COVID-19 Negros Occidental provincial government employees, Diaz said.The four tested positive late last week and three more on Sunday, he said.But the good news is the COVID-19 cases in Negros Occidental dropped below 2,000 during the weekend.Negros Occidental’s COVID-19 active cases on Sunday dropped to 1,845, the Provincial Incident Management Team reported.Negros Occidental had 33 new COVID-19 cases and Bacolod City had 53 on Sunday, the Department of Health reported.Bacolod City has 1,004 active COVID-19 ca...

Mass vaccination against COVID-19 will continue in 22 barangays and two malls in Bacolod City this week, City Administrator Em Ang said Sunday, May 16.The vaccination at the SMX Convention Center and the Ayala Malls Capitol Central will be held daily from Monday to Friday, said Ang, who is also executive director of the Bacolod Emergency Operations Center.On Monday, May 17, mass vaccination is set at 13 barangays – Villamonte, Mansilingan, Alijis, Granada, Andres Bonifacio Elementary School (ABES) in Barangay 3, Education and Training Center School (ETCS) in Barangay 16, Tangub, 39, Bata, Banago, Mandalagan, Taculing and Singcang, she said.Mass vaccination on Tuesday, May 18, will be at 11 sites – Montevista, Mansilingan, Alijis, Estefania, ABES, ETCS, Tangub, Bata, Banago, Tac...

3IB photoThe four victims of separate Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental, killings on Friday, May 14, were allegedly targeted by the New People’s Army (NPA) because they suspected them to be government informants.The separate shooting incidents in Barangay Trinidad occurred near the site of a recent encounter between the Philippine Army and the NPA that claimed the lives of 10 rebels and wounded another.“The four were suspected by the NPAs to be responsible for the major setback they suffered during the encounter on March 23,” the Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade said in a statement Saturday, May 15.In the police report, 45-year-old Rogelio Fat, a farmer, was preparing to pasture his livestock at around 5 a.m., when four unidentified men believed to be members of the NPA’s Speci...