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The Escalante City government has eased its border checkpoints, except for the one at its seaport.Mayor Melecio Yap Jr. in an executive order issued today, February 16, said that all established border controls within the city are lifted except the seaport border for incoming individuals from Cebu.He said the seaport border in Crossing Danao in Barangay Old Poblacion will be strengthened by reactivating the composite team of the police, army, and other agencies.The Philippine Coast Guard substation in Escalante City was also directed to establish full coordination with its counterparts in Cebu by requesting for a copy of the trip manifest of all incoming vessels entering the jurisdiction of the locality, and that the Bantay Dagat in coordination with PCG should actively conduct...

Ronnie Baldonado photoThe House of Representatives recently approved on third and final reading a landmark legislation that seeks to provide permanent resettlement sites to tens of thousands of Filipino fisherfolk and their families.House Bill 6876, entitled, "An Act Mandating the Establishment of Fisherfolk Resettlement Areas by the Department of Agriculture, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, and the Local Government Units, Amending for the Purpose Section 108 of Republic Act No. 8550, Otherwise Known as the "Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998," as Amended by Republic Act No. 10654," hopes to alleviate the lives of thousands of fishermen in the country, Rep. Leo Rafael Cueva (Neg. Occ., 2nd District), said.Cueva, chairman of the House Committee on Aquacultu...

PIA photoNegros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said today, February 15, that Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu had requested another Panay Guimaras Negros bridge project feasibility study, to include the third district of Negros Occidental.Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar announced Saturday that the prefeasibility study for the 32.47-kilometer Panay Guimaras Negros (PGN) Bridge has been completed.“We are now on the final stages of the feasibility study,” said Villar on his Facebook page.Lacson said that is better news than the previous announcement that the project was being aborted because the original contractor had pulled out.The original plan has been for a bridge to be built from Guimaras to Pulupandan in Negros Occidental.The governor sa...

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said today, February 15, that he is okay to the request to open the border between Kabankalan City in Negros Occidental and Mabinay in Negros Oriental.San Carlos City’s border with Vallehermoso has been open for a couple of months already, Lacson pointed out.He does not know if that has anything to do with San Carlos having the most number of COVID-19 active cases in Negros Occidental, Lacson said.Lacson has an existing executive order stating that the borders between Negros Occidental Oriental should remain closed as a deterrent against the spread of COVID-19.The governor said Kabankalan Mayor Pedro Zayco informed him of the request to allow Mabinay residents into Kabankalan City.Mabinay has no active COVID-19 cases and its re...

Negros Occidental town and city mayors need not worry about COVID-19 vaccines for their constituents, the national government has already assured that it will provide them, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said today, February 15.Lacson said in the many meetings he has attended with Secretary Carlito Galvez, the country’s COVID-19 vaccine czar, he has assured that it is the national government’s obligation to vaccinate every Filipino.The 3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines that he requested covers everyone in Negros Occidental, except those who belong to the age group from 18 years old and below, Lacson said.The mayors should not worry about buying the vaccines, they should let the national government take care of that, he said.The mayors should instead focus on registering their ...

The TFD farmers protesting in front of the DAR provincial office in Dawis, Bacolod City, this morning, February 15.* Contributed photoAbout 50 landless Negros Occidental farmers carrying "broken hearts" made of red cartolina staged a post-Valentine protest today, February 15, against what they called the failure of the Duterte administration to fulfill its promise of completing land distribution under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).The farmers belonging to the peasant federation Task Force Mapalad (TFM) staged their protest-rally in front of the provincial office of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Dawis, Bacolod City.“You’ve broken our hearts, our dreams, Mr. President, because you failed to deliver what you promised," Teresita Tarlac, president of ...