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Negros Occidental Board Member Manuel Frederick Ko, Himamaylan Mayor Raymund Tongson and Murcia Mayor Victor Gerardo Rojas have recovered from COVID-19.Tongson on Friday, April 23, reminded everyone to observe proper health protocols to prevent the further spread of the virus.His vice mayor, Justin Gatuslao, said thankfully he has also recovered and is excited to get back to work.Rojas, who was recently quarantined at the Mambukal Resort, also said Friday that he along with the three town councilors, employees and residents of Murcia have recovered from COVID-19.The COVID-19 cases in his town are beginning to decrease, he said.The mayor, who is set to return to work, said the Murcia Municipal Hall has been operating on a skeleton force since Monday.*

Community pantries in Bacolod City.*NVC photoNegros and Bacolod government and Church officials Friday, April 23, thanked Good Samaritans responsible for the growing number of community pantries in the province and city.In response to the call to “Give whatever you can, take only what you need,” makeshift stalls with donated fresh produce, canned goods and other essential needs for the poor have sprouted on sidewalks, in front of homes, business establishments, Church grounds, police and fire stations, and even in remote villages in Negros and Bacolod.“True to the Bayanihan spirit of Filipinos, we should encourage rather than put malice on these kind hearted individuals,” Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said.Mayor Evelio Leonardia thanked the Bacolodnons responsi...

PDEA photoAnother suspected illegal drugs high-value target was arrested in a joint buy-bust operation at Barangay 1, Bacolod City, Friday, April 23.The suspect was identified as Jobel Villasis, who yielded six sachets of suspected shabu worth P408,000 with an estimated weight of 60 grams.The operation was conducted by drug enforcement agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Negros Occidental and personnel of Bacolod Police Station 2.The suspect will face drug charges.*

House Minority Floor Leader Stephen Paduano said Friday, April 23, that he is pushing for an increase in the budget of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC ) for insurgency cleared barangays, amid calls from some lawmakers for its abolition.The calls came after NTF-ELCAC spokesperson Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade was accused of red tagging community pantry organizers.“We would want NTF-ELCAC officials to give details as to where and how the funds are being used and how their vilification tactics translate to having more communist rebels turning their backs on insurgency," Deputy House Speaker Michael Romero said Friday.“The rampant unlawful profiling and obvious red-tagging of organizers of community pantries by officials of the NTF-ELCAC are simp...

Andy Alvarez photos“It will be a super battle royale” should former Rep. Alfredo “Albee” Benitez decide to challenge Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia in the 2022 polls, Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said Thursday, April 22.Benitez registered to vote in Bacolod Thursday amid calls for him to run for mayor of the city.“I would like to keep my options open and the first step is transferring my (voter) registration from Victorias to Bacolod…Let’s just wait for the succeeding steps,” Benitez said.Benitez said the overwhelming clamor for change and the call for him to run for mayor of Bacolod has been unexpected.The clamor cannot be ignored, he said.However, when asked if he has shelved plans to run for senator, Benitez said anything can happen.“The public’...

It looks like with the United Negros Alliance-Love Negros coalition, there will be few heated political battles in the 31 towns and cities of Negros Occidental in the 2022 polls.Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante, UNegA secretary-general, said the status quo is likely to remain for most incumbent officials from the governor, congressmen, board members down to the mayors in 2022.That is because UNegA and Love Negros by recognizing the equity of the incumbent will not be fielding opponents against the present officials.The only two areas where there may be battles for mayoral posts are in the towns of Toboso and Isabela, Escalante said.Mayor Richard Jaojoco is ending his third term in Toboso and it looks like his wife, Madonnah, may run for mayor but there are also other int...

The police intercepted a Bacolod City active COVID-19 carrier in Aklan Thursday, April 22, Col. Manuel Placido, city police director, said.The Bacolodnon was swabbed for a COVID-19 RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) test as a requirement to go to Batangas but without waiting for the release of his results he left Bacolod Wednesday night, Placido said.The man tested positive for COVID-19 but before Bacolod health authorities could pick him up Thursday morning to be quarantined it was learned that he left for Aklan on his way to Batangas, City Administrator Em Ang said.Ang, who is also the executive director of the Bacolod Emergency Operations Center, said they immediately asked the police to use their network to intercept the patient.“We requested the A...

The Bacolod City and Negros Occidental governments are harmonizing their respective data and operations in a new approach to curb the spread of COVID-19, a press release from the Bacolod City Public Information Office said Thursday, April 22.Officials of Bacolod City Emergency Operations Center – Task Force (EOC-TF), the Provincial Health Office (PHO), and the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) met Tuesday, April 20, to discuss important matters about the coordination process between the two local government units (LGUs), it said.Bacolod City Administrator Em Ang, who is also EOC executive director, said the coordination meeting will be weekly between the two LGUs to synchronize their operations.The city and provincial governments will be sharing ...