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Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson is asking the national Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF- EID) for a two-week travel moratorium of all land, air and sea travel into Negros Occidental amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases.“I believe that this is imperative in order to protect our constituents, our local economy and our future as a province,” Lacson said in a letter he signed today, March 21, to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and Cabinet Secretary Carlo Nograles, IATF-EID co-chairpersons.Lacson said he would like to prevent the uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 within the province that is clearly brought by Locally Stranded Individuals (LSI), Authorized Persons Outside Residence (APOP), and Returning Overseas Filipinos (ROF).“If I stand idly, I fear th...

Two men died in separate shooting incidents in Negros Occidental on March 19.In Calatrava town, 43-year-old Lito Villamor, onboard a motorcycle, was on his way home to Barangay Minautok when he was chased by unidentified riding-in-tandem suspects who shot him several times.The victim was brought to the Calatrava District Hospital but he was pronounced dead on arrival, the police said.Recovered from the crime scene were six fired cartridges of a .45 caliber pistol and two fired bullets.In Silay City, 48-year-old Arnold Rivera, onboard a motorcycle with his wife, was on his way home to Barangay E. Lopez when he was waylaid by the four suspects on board a white sedan and two motorcycles.One of them shot the victim at close range. The perpetrators then fled the scene.Re...

Local chief executives in Western Visayas have been directed to suspend all cockfighting and cockpit operations in their jurisdictions until April 4.Local Government Regional Director Juan Jovian Ingeniero said the order was issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases in view of rising COVID-19 cases in the country.The IATF suspended cockfighting operations even in areas under Modified General Community Quarantine, he said. The entire Western Visayas is under MGCQ.Ingeniero also directed DILG provincial and city directors to monitor and report any cockfighting activities in close coordination with local chief executives.*

The Commission on Elections has suspended satellite registration in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City, along with the rest of the country, starting Monday, March 22, Acting Provincial Elections Supervisor Ma. Fatima Aspan said.This is in compliance with Memorandum 85 issued by the Office of the President on March 19, amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases, she said.Applications for registration will be accepted from Mondays to Thursdays, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at all town and city Comelec offices, Aspan said.There will be no public transactions on Fridays, that has been designated as disinfection day, she said.Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez reminded applicants that minimum health standard protocols are strictly being implemented in local poll body offices to ensure th...

The management of Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City said that the allocated beds of its hospital wards in the Department of Pediatrics have reached full capacity.Dr. Julius Drilon, CLMMRH medical center chief, in an advisory Sunday, March 21, said that the temporary changes will take effect immediately.He said that the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit will limit its admission services to extreme emergency cases only until further notice.He also said that the Pediatrics Ward will limit its admission serves to extreme emergency cases.He also requested the public to coordinate closely with the hospital’s Emergency Department prior to patient transfers or transport.*

The registration for the National ID System is ongoing from Mondays to Saturdays at the Rizal Elementary School in Bacolod City.“We are currently catering to those 15 years old and above,” said Provincial Chief Statistical Specialist Luis Gonzales of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) - Negros Occidental.The ongoing registration is already “Step 2” of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) registration process. Step 2 is for the validation of supporting documents and capturing of biometric information of registrants, a press release from the Bacolod Public Information Office said.In "Step 1" conducted last year, a house-to-house interview to gather the demographic data using tablets was done by PSA-commissioned Data Collectors. An appointment slip for Step 2 was ...

Escalante City Mayor Melecio Yap. Jr. received his first Sinovac jab Friday morning, March 19.*Escalante LGU photoEscalante Mayor Melecio Yap Jr. received a Sinovac jab Friday, March 19, to convince hesitant health care workers (HCWs) in his city that it is safe and necessary, making him the first public official in Negros Occidental to be vaccinated against COVID-19.Yap said 150 doses of the vaccine were sent to the Vicente Gustilo District Hospital in Escalante City and when he arrived, only 46 HCWs were willing to be vaccinated.The HCWs were hesitant to be inoculated with the China-made vaccines so he had to volunteer to be vaccinated to trigger a response, Yap said.Yap, who said he was on the quick replacement list for vaccination, had no adverse reaction to the vaccine...

All persons traveling to Western Visayas, including Authorized Persons Outside Residence (APOR), must have negative COVID-19 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results taken 72 hours before their trip, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas said Friday, March 19.The WV officials agreed to issue regionwide executive orders that will cover APORs, who were previously exempted, he said.The WV governors and mayors of highly urbanized cities joined a Zoom meeting with Local Government Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III to discuss the move, Treñas said.It was agreed that local government units in Western Visayas will issue executive orders that will be effective up to April 10 unless sooner revoked by the local government units if the circumstances warrant, he said....