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“I am not a drug lord and never had been a drug lord…I am innocent of all the accusations hurled against me,” former Bacolod councilor Ricardo "Cano" Tan said at a press conference Sunday, May 2.*CPG photoFormer Bacolod No. 1 Councilor Ricardo “Cano” Tan announced Sunday, May 2, that finally and officially the Philippine National Police has issued a certification clearing him and his family of any links to the illegal drugs trade.“I was a victim of fake news, intrigue, lies and deception. It destroyed my life. It destroyed my family. It ruined me,” said an emotional Tan, at a press conference at his Campuestohan Highland Resort in Talisay City.Tan, who made a public appearance for the first time since he and his wife, Nita, survived an ambush in Barangay Alangilan, Bacolod City...

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said Sunday, May 2, that P221,810,000 in cash assistance for 44,362 Western Visayas workers in the tourism sector has been approved.In Negros Occidental, P80.7 million has been approved for 16,149 workers, Aklan - P48.6 million for 9,728, Iloilo – P45.3 million for 9,065, Antique – P37.6 million for 7,512, Guimaras – P5.3 million for 1,063, and Capiz – P4.2 million for 845, Puyat told DIGICAST NEGROS.The country’s lawmakers allocated P3.1 billion in financial aid under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, which President Rodrigo Duterte has extended until June, Puyat said.The beneficiaries were given P5,000 as a one-time financial assistance.Puyat earlier said the COVID-19 pandemic caused tourism revenues in Western Visayas to drop ...

Four more employees at the Negros Occidental provincial Capitol in Bacolod City have tested positive for COVID-19 bringing the total number to seven, Provincial Administrator Rayfrado Diaz said Sunday, May 2.The three who tested positive Sunday were from the Provincial Administrator’s Office and one was from the Provincial Health Office, he said.Two employees of the Provincial Administrator’s Office and one from the Provincial Legal Office also tested positive for COVID-19 last week.Diaz, who had close contact with one of those from his office who tested positive for COVID-19 Sunday, was swabbed last night for an RT-PCR test.The Provincial Administrator’s Office that has been disinfected will reopen Monday and will be manned by the staff who already tested negative, Diaz sa...

The Bacolod policemen who tested positive for COVID-19 rose to 72 Sunday, May 2, PCol. Manuel Placido, city police director, said.Police Station 4 had the most policemen hit by the virus at 15, he said.As of Sunday, 751 Bacolod police personnel had been swabbed for COVID-19, he added.All 10 Bacolod police stations and the main headquarters have had policemen hit by the virus, PLt. Liberty Indiape, Bacolod City Police Office spokesperson, said.None of the police stations have been locked down, but persons allowed inside are being limited to prevent the spread of the virus, she said.The police stations with COVID-19 positive cops have been augmented with additional policemen, Indiape said.The police surveillance testing that showed 72 cops positive for the virus start...

The secretary-general of the United Negros Alliance said Sunday, May 2, that he was not aware that two of their members are planning to challenge incumbent congressmen in the May 2022 polls.Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante, UNegA secretary general, was reacting to talk that Toboso Mayor Richard Jaojoco would challenge Rep. Gerardo Valmayor (Negros Occidental, 1st District) and former EB Magalona Mayor David Lacson would run against Rep. Francisco Benitez (Negros Occidental,3rd District).Both congressmen belong to Love Negros.“That has not been discussed, there is nothing serious about it,” Escalante said.UNegA and Love Negros are expected to maintain its coalition until 2022 that could respect the equity of the incumbent.Escalante said the only two areas where the two gro...

The COVAC team inspecting the set up of the vaccination area at the SM Mall.*Photo from Em Ang FBThe Bacolod City Emergency Operations Center is all set to start the mass vaccination program at SM Mall on Monday, May 3, City Administrator Em Ang, who is also executive director of the EOC, said Sunday.The COVAC team inspected and set up the vaccination area which is located at the lobby of SM Cinema at the south wing of the mall, she said.Remaining health facility frontliners, senior citizens and persons with co-morbidities will be accommodated based on a first-come first-served sequence in the order that their registration came into the city’s data base, Ang said.Those who intend to avail of free COVID vaccines from the city government, may register online through this l...

A teenager was gunned down inside his residence at Barangay Mailum in Bago City, Negros Occidental, on Friday, April 30.The police identified the fatality as Cyrus Mariano, who was asleep during the attack by an unidentified suspect.One of the assailants, who wore brown shorts and jacket, entered the house of the victim and shot him three times, a Bago police report said.The second suspect, who wore a white T-shirt and maong shorts, stayed outside of the victim’s house and served as a lookout.Both suspects fled towards a the sugarcane plantation, the police report said.The victim was rushed to the Bago City Hospital but was declared dead on arrival by the attending physician.The victim succumbed to gunshot wounds on his head and chest.Recovered from the scene we...

Bayan Negros photoNegros Occidental and Bacolod City officials marked Labor Day on Saturday, May 1, by honoring the workers and the frontliners amid the Covid-19 pandemic.Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, in a statement, said the indispensable role and contribution of the Filipino labor force to the Filipino nation has long been acknowledged.“Today’s Labor Day takes a novel and a more solemn meaning as we commemorate this day in the thick of a global health and economic crisis,” he said.The past year has shown us not just the industry of the Filipino. We have witnessed in the raw, the passion, commitment, self-sacrifice, and bravery of our workers so courageously displayed to meet the needs of everyone — may it be healthcare, food production, security, logistics, or other essen...

Mayor Evelio Leonardia and City Administrator Em Ang meet with OWWA Deputy Administrators Esther Margaux “Mocha” Uson and Faustino “Bubsie” Sabarez III, and OIC-Region 6 director Rizza Joy Moldes, Saturday.*Bacolod PIO photoMayor Evelio Leonardia met with officials of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to discuss programs that will benefit Bacolodnon overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families who are adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.The meeting, held at the Acacia Hotel Saturday, May 1, discussed the following OWWA programs: “Tulong Puso”, “Balik Pinas, Balik Hanapbuhay”, “Balik Pinay, Balik Hanapbuhay”, “Tabang” (for Distressed College Students) and “Project Alalay”, a press release from the Bacolod Information Office said.OWWA was represent...

The City of Bacolod will mark the World Press Freedom Day 2021 Monday, May 3, as declared in City Ordinance No. 687 to recognize and respect the freedom of the press as an inseparable partner of a democratic society.“The observance of ‘World Press Freedom Day’ in Bacolod tells us that indeed our city is in sync with the rest of the free world. We call media the 4th estate because that is how highly we value freedom of the press. There can be no real democracy if media is not free but this must also comes with its corresponding responsibilities and ethics,” Mayor Evelio Leonardia said.Activities for World Press Freedom Day will be held in Bacolod this month, which will be organized by the Bacolod City Public Information Office (PIO) in partnership with the Negros Press Club, Kapisan...