Top Stories

The Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas is requesting for nurses and doctors from Negros Occidental who are willing to augment hospitals in Metro Manila amid a surge in COVID-19 cases there, Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, Provincial Consultant on Economic Affairs, said Monday, April 5.They will be compensated and provided free food and accommodation, he said.Benitez said he was informed that the nurses will be distributed to the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Lung Center of the Philippines, San Lazaro Hospital, Tondo Medical Center and Rizal Medical Center.Basic salary is P33,575 for Nurse I and P60,901 for doctors classified as medical officer III.Other benefits include additional 20 percent premium of the basic salary, roundtrip travelling expenses ...

Mayor Evelio Leonardia has extended the closure of the Bacolod City Government Center grounds indefinitely with the surge in COVID-19 cases in Bacolod City, which he described as alarming.There are 24 COVID-positive city government employees, he said Monday, April 5.Surveillance testing of 124 Bacolod City Government Center employees was conducted Monday, City Administrator Em Ang said.Bacolod City had 35 new COVID-19 cases, 11 new recoveries and no news deaths, the Department of Health reported Monday.Of the 35, the DOH said 34 are local transmissions.Bacolod City has 305 active COVID-19 cases, it added.The mayor thanked Bacolod beach and resort owners for cooperating with his call to shutdown on Easter Sunday to prevent mass gatherings that would cause the spread ...

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson called on Negrenses Monday, April 5, to add more protection as COVID-19 active cases rose to 474 in Negros Occidental on Sunday.This is a cause for concern, he said.“Even when inside the house wear masks, and if you go out I strongly recommend that you wear double masks,” Lacson said.Negrenses should avoid mass gatherings, celebrations and travelling in big groups, he said.“Stay in your locality, let’s not travel,” he said.He said the local government units (LGUs) in the province are doing everything possible to bring down the number of COVID-19 cases.Lacson also appealed to the Department of Education to allow the use of their buildings as quarantine facilities if requests are made by local government officials.COVID-19 cases in Negros ...

Bacolod PIO photoThe Department of Health is sending more COVID-19 vaccines to Negros Occidental Tuesday, April 6, provincial consultant on economic affairs Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said Monday, April 5.Benitez said he followed up the additional supply and was assured of the delivery.Dr. Jane Juanico, DOH Western Visayas infectious disease cluster head, said 7,200 Sinovac doses good for 3,600 health workers are arriving.Negros Occidental will receive 5,200 and Bacolod City 2,000, she said.In Bacolod City, 27 doctors and one nurse who received their first doses of Sinovac vaccines on March 5 and 7 received their second doses at the Bacolod Government Center Monday.*

Residents and multi-sectoral groups of Bago City are opposing the move to privatize their water district.The sectoral groups led by the Alliance of Concerned Christians (ACC) of Bago City, an ecumenical and multi-sectoral alliance, are spearheading the information dissemination and campaign against the joint venture agreement between the Bago City Water District (BACIWAD) and PrimeWater Infrastructure Inc., which is owned by the Villar family.Fr. Chris Gonzales, head of the Social Action Center of the Diocese of Bacolod, said the community is alarmed with the impending privatization of the government-run service agency and its possible adverse effects on the consuming public of Bago City.The Catholic Church of St. John the Baptist together with the pastors of the different deno...

Archie Alipalo file photoThe Negros Occidental Sangguniang Panlalawigan has approved the appointment of former governor Rafael Coscolluela as a provincial consultant on energy and environment affairs.The SP last week approved the appointment of Coscolluela, who will receive a monthly fee of P50,000, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Monday, April 5.Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, who appointed Coscolluela to the post, sought the approval of the SP.The consultancy agreement states that Coscolluela will render advice to the governor on matters affecting energy and environment affairs.He will also develop strategies and programs on improving the energy efficiency and sustainability in the province and device an energy management plan.Coscolluela will conduct envir...

The total crime volume in the first quarter of the year dropped by 19.14 percent, the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) reported Monday, April 5.Based on the BCPO report, the crime incidents in the first three months of 2021 were 321 compared to the same period in 2020 with 397, posting a decrease of 76 crime incidents.Of the 321 incidents, 71 are index crimes while 250 are non-index crimes.Index crimes are serious crimes such as murder, homicide, physical injury, robbery, rape, theft, and carjacking, while non-index crimes are violations of local ordinances and laws and vehicular accidents.The average monthly crime rate also dropped, from 21.63 percent in 2020 to 17.49 in 2021.Col. Manuel Placido, BCPO director, attributed the lower crime volume to the initiated police...

Photo from Javi Benitez FBJavier “Javi” Lopez Benitez, 26, is running for mayor of Victorias City in Negros Occidental in 2022, former Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez confirmed Monday, April 5.The former solon said his son is running as Victorias Mayor Francis Frederick Palanca is on his third and last term.Palanca is the cousin of Javi’s grandmother, Betty Bantug Benitez.Javi, who is a businessman and movie actor, wants to bring change and usher in a new type of politics in Victorias, his father said.Supporters of Javi are saying he will be the Vico Sotto of Victorias, in reference to the mayor of Pasig City.*