Top Stories

San Carlos LGU photoMayor Renato Gustilo locked down 300 houses Thursday, April 8, to curb the surge in COVID-19 cases in Barangay Guadalupe proper, San Carlos City.The lockdown will be for 15 days but could run for one month depending on the situation in the area, he said.A group of 16 choir members in Guadalupe proper were initially hit by the virus, which then spread to other residents.Guadalupe proper residents with COVID-19 were 55 as of Thursday, Gustilo said.San Carlos City had 179 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday and 24 new cases on Thursday bringing the total to 203.Gustilo on Wednesday issued Executive Order 64-A Series of 2021 prohibiting the conduct on non-essential activities in public spaces, resorts, parks and other tourism establishments to curb the COVID...

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson issued an executive order Thursday, April 8, implementing stringent measures on mass gatherings in order to curb the current surge in COVID-19 cases in Negros Occidental.Lacson, in Executive Order No. 21-21, Series of 2021, ordered that mass gatherings will be allowed up to 30 percent of the venue capacity.Participants should also observe the minimum public health standards, and establishments should comply with ventilation requirements, he said.Lockdowns will be limited to specific areas within the respective Local Government Units (LGUs) and should not include national roads, Lacson said.Each LGU will have the discretion to declare localized and targeted lockdowns within their jurisdictions, he added.Negros Occidental is currently under Modifi...

The first provincial chapter of 1Sambayan, a national broadbased coalition of pro-democratic forces, will be launched in Negros Occidental Friday, April 9, at the Grand Hall of Acacia Hotel in Bacolod City.Former Negros Occidental Gov. Rafael Coscolluela, one of the lead convenors of the group, said 1Sambayan was initiated by a group of citizens concerned about the state of the nation and the quality of governance under the Duterte administration.Negros Occidental organized the first provincial chapter after the group’s national launch in Manila last month.The launch coincides with the Day of Valor (Araw ng Kagitingan), a red letter day, which marks the fall of Bataan during World War II.“We hope to galvanize Filipinos into a united opposition, rally inclusive coalition beh...

Four members of a family were found murdered in their house at Gardenville Subdivision in Barangay Tangub, Bacolod City, 10 a.m., Wednesday, April 7.“All four, who were in a state of decomposition, had been hit on their heads with a hard object. All of the victims sustained head injuries,” PMaj. Joery Puerto, Bacolod Police Station 8 chief, said.Found dead were Jocelyn Espinosa Nombre, 59, and her sister Remedios Jemma Espinosa, 69, John Michael Espinosa, 35, and his 6-year-old daughter, Precious.John Michael is the son of Remedios.They are believed to have been killed three days earlier.Jona de los Santos sought police assistance after she received a call from her brother Jonel Benjamin Nombre, 54, who is a seaman, that his wife Jocelyn had not been answering his calls...

Mayor Victor Gerardo Rojas and Negros Occidental Board Member Manuel Frederick Ko (right) spoke at events in Murcia recently have tested positive for COVID-19.*Board Member Manuel Frederick Ko, Mayor Victor Gerardo Rojas, two councilors and 35 other Murcia, Negros Occidental, residents tested positive for COVID-19 Wednesday, April 7.Rojas said he has ordered the closure of the Murcia Municipal Hall for massive disinfection and contact tracing, and the enforcement of more stringent protocols to prevent the spread of the virus.Ko, Negros Occidental third district board member, is suspected to have been hit by the virus in Murcia where he had attended several activities , Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.Murcia Councilors Belen Magbanua and Adrian Olimpo, a former ...

Cadiz LGU photoCadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante has locked down 150 households in Purok Mainuswagon (Barbas 2), Barangay Zone 2, Cadiz City, for seven days to contain the spread of COVID-19.Their initial estimate was 250 households but on actual count Wednesday, April 7, it was 150, he said.The lockdown was enforced after about 11 residents in purok tested positive for the virus, with one death, he said.He said food packs were distributed to the affected residents.They are extracting swab samples from one member of each household for COVID-19 tests, and so far have covered 137, Escalante said.We will then test all the members of the households of the individauls who test positive, he said.Some residents could not be located, he said.Cadiz City currently has 46...

COVID-19 cases in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental continued to rise Wednesday, April 7.The Department of Health reported 89 new COVID-19 cases in Negros Occidental and 50 in Bacolod City Wednesday.The 86 cases in Negros Occidental and 50 in Bacolod City are all locally transmitted, the DOH report said.Bacolod City now has 351 active COVID-19 cases and Negros Occidental has 552.Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson is expected to issue and executive order Thursday, April 8, restricting public gatherings, Provincial Administrator Rayfrado Diaz said.The barangays remain to be the “main battleground” as the city courses its way through the sudden spike of COVID-19 cases over the last two weeks, Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia said during a virtual meeting with city a...

San Carlos LGU photoNegros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said the San Carlos City government should lockdown Barangay Guadalupe proper where there has been a surge in COVID-19 cases.San Carlos City COVID -19 active cases hit 178 Wednesday, with 53 in Barangay Guadalupe, Joe Recalex Alingasa Jr., head of the city’s Emergency Operations Center, said.“San Carlos locked down a smaller barangay before, I think they should do that right now (in Brgy Guadalupe proper) because it is very clear where the cases are coming from,” Lacson said.The rise in COVID-19 cases in San Carlos is being caused by local transmissions, the governor said.The surge in COVID-19 cases in Barangay Guadalupe occurred after 16 choir members tested positive after going to an anniversary of a pries...