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There are 19 more Negros Occidental provincial government employees who tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, May 4, including Provincial Agriculturist Japhet Masculino.This brings to 31 the total number of provincial government employees currently positive for COVID-19, with 12 others reported earlier, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.“It’s like walking in a minefield reporting for work every day because you never know if the person beside you may have the virus,” he said.Of the 19 new cases the Procurement Services Depot has eight, Provincial Health Office - three, Security and Safety Division – three, Provincial Administrator’s Office – two, Department of Health nurse – one, Office of the Provincial Agriculturist – one and Negros Occidental Comprehensive Healt...

The number of Bacolod City policemen who have tested positive for COVID-19 is quite high, this has further reduced our personnel doing regular police work, PCol. Manuel Placido, Bacolod police director, said Tuesday, May 3.There are 85 Bacolod policemen who have tested positive for COVID-19 who are in quarantine.“We will continue to perform our mandate despite of such predicament. This is what we are sworn into, as our job, and we have to do it,” Placido said.The task of the police is not only crime prevention and maintenance of peace and order, but also to contain the spread of COVID-19, he said.“I implore the cooperation of everyone in this challenging times,” he said.Those who feel entitled and do not care about staying safe at the expense of others is not good in th...

The Bacolod City councilor who tested positive for COVID-19 is improving, City Administrator Em Ang said Tuesday, May 4.The councilor and his wife, whose names are being withheld, both tested positive for COVID-19 and were hospitalized Friday.The councilor had been working from home and the Sangguniang Panlungsod sessions are held via Zoom so there is no danger of his colleagues having been in close contact with him, said Ang, who is also executive director of the Emergency Operations Center.Bacolod City has 128 new COVID-19 cases , 48 recoveries and two deaths, the Department of Health reported Tuesday.The city now has 949 active COVID-19 cases, the DOH report added. It had 871 active cases on Monday.724 VACCINATEDMeanwhile, Ang reiterated her call for Bacolod resi...

NOCPPO photoThe National Bureau of Investigation has recovered fragments of the bullet that killed Negros Occidental provincial consultant Mariano Antonio “Marton” Cui III, NBI Bacolod chief Renoir Baldovino said Tuesday, May 4.The bullet fragments recovered during an autopsy of the exhumed remains of Cui on Monday will be submitted for ballistics examination to possibly determine the type of gun used in his assassination.If the firearm used was registered, a cross match with its bullet samples could help them trace the owner of the weapon, Baldovino said.Baldovino is waiting for the autopsy report of Dr. Nicasio Butin, NBI 6 medico-legal officer, that will indicate how many bullets hit Cui.President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the NBI to investigate the killing of Cui...

BCPO photoThe month-long intensified campaign of the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) against criminality has resulted in the recovery of about P3 million worth of drugs.The police confiscated a total of 432.2596 grams of illegal drugs worth P2.939 million during operations from April 1 to 30, an accomplishment report released by the BCPO Tuesday, May 4, showed.During the 56 anti-drug operations, 69 suspects - three high-value individuals, 62 street-level individuals, and four newly identified drug personalities - were arrested while 102 drug charges were filed in court.On the campaign against wanted persons, the BCPO arrested 54 personalities, including the six most wanted persons, while eight loose firearms were confiscated during the period.A total of 13 firearms we...

President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate the killing of Negros Occidental provincial consultant Mariano Antonio “Marton” Cui III, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said in a press briefing Monday, May 3.Cui, provincial consultant on hospital operations, was shot dead as he was leaving his office at Emerald Arcade in San Carlos City, on April 12.Duterte, who condemned the killing of Cui, ordered the NBI to investigate the case and give his family justice, Roque said.Cui, who was the chief of staff of then Rep. Julio Ledesma, was an influential political player in the first district of Negros Occidental.The body of Cui that was buried at the San Carlos City Memorial Park on April 20 was exhumed Monday morning for autopsy...

The secretary of Barangay Bata in Bacolod City who tested positive for COVID-19 died, while a city councilor and his wife who have been hit by the virus have been hospitalized.Bacolod City remains a high risk area for COVID-19, the Department of Health reported Monday, May 3.Bacolod City had 26 new COVID-hit residents for a total of 871 active cases, and one new death on Monday, the DOH also reported.Meanwhile, the names of the councilor and his wife who tested positive for COVID-19 are being withheld on the request of their family.A DIGICAST NEGROS source said the condition of the councilor was not good, while his wife had mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms.The councilor who was coughing and had difficulty breathing was hospitalized Friday.The Barangay Bata secreta...