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Twenty-one local government units (LGUs) in Negros Occidental have opened up their localities to leisure travel for their residents starting Monday, October 19.These are the cities of Bago, Cadiz, Escalante, Himamaylan, Sagay, San Carlos, and Talisay, and the municipalities of Binalbagan, Calatrava, Candoni, Cauayan, Hinigaran, Isabela, La Castellana, Manapla, Moises Padilla, Murcia, Pontevedra, Pulupandan, Salvador Benedicto, and Valladolid.On the other hand, 10 localities have remained closed for tourists and leisure travel. These are the cities of Kabankalan, La Carlota, Silay, Sipalay, and Victorias, and the municipalities of EB Magalona, Hinobaan, Ilog, San Enrique, and Toboso.Provincial Tourism Officer Jennylind Cordero said that resorts and other accommodation facilities...

PDEA photoA high-value target was arrested by authorities in a drug bust on Sunday, October 18, at Barangay 5 in San Carlos City.Nabbed was Joemarie "Tata Babor" Babor, who was listed as the Top 10 Provincial Targetlist of the police.The operation, conducted by the operatives of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the San Carlos City Police station, also led to the confiscation of suspected shabu weighing around 10 grams with an estimated value of P68,000.The suspect, who was under the custody of the police, will face drug charges.*

The Department of Health urged the public to remain socially connected to avoid "quarantine fatigue" amid the coronavirus pandemic.“Ito nga po iyong aming laging pinapaalala ‘no, unang-una, please stay connected (We would like to remind everyone, first of all, please stay connected),” DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during a Laging Handa public briefing on Saturday aired over state-run PTV4.Vergeire said because of the quarantine status that is imposed in different parts of the country, people experience social withdrawal.She said calling friends and loved ones will help, as well as finding a hobby or other recreational activity.“After so many months of being quarantined, people feel restless; people feel anxious; they’re irritable. Mayroon po silang mga with...

PNA file photoAfter the government lifted restrictions of non-essential outbound travel beginning Oct. 21, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said they are now studying policies easing inbound travel restrictions amid the prevailing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.Nograles, the co-chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), said the government will be reviewing non-essential inbound travel policies because they recognize that there are foreign citizens who also want to spend the holidays with their loved ones and fiancées in the Philippines."Pinag-aaralan pa ‘yan, yung sa inbound naman (It’s still being studied, lifting restrictions for inbound travel),” he said in a Facebook live on Saturday night.Currently...

Bacolod PIO photoThe rehabilitation of Lupit Bridge near the San Antonio Abad Church was completed recently.Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia said that while most of the city’s resources and attention are now focused on the fight against COVID-19, the city government has also to continue providing better roads and bridges for its people because public works like these are economic stimulants.Since this bridge is part of Lacson Street - one of the busiest streets in the city - its widening and rehab will improve the flow of traffic on that street up to Lacson Extension to the south where another four-lane bridge is soon to open, the mayor added.Acting City Engineer Aladino Agbones said the total project cost for the two wings of the bridge is P33.5 million.The project...

Richard Malihan photoWe are deeply humbled by the recognition of the Senate of the Philippines to the contributions made by my late father, Gov. Alfredo G. Marañon, Jr., as a public servant for more than five decades.The passage of Senate Bill No. 544 , authored by Majority Floorleader Juan Miguel Zubiri of Bukidnon and co-authored by all senators present in a virtual session early this week, was a source of comfort for us, especially for our mother, in our time of grief.The Senate's homage, taking into account his works advancing the protection of the 32,000-hectare Sagay Marine Reef and the Visayan Sea, and other environmental causes as well as advocacies on organic farming, sustainable agri-aqua development, coal-free Negros, livelihood opportunities for the marginalized, an...

The ban on tourism-related and non-essential travel to Sipalay City has been extended until October 31.Mayor Maria Gina Lizares, who signed the executive order on October 13, said that the order was in response to the City Tourism Council's unanimous decision of not catering to tourists from outside Sipalay for the rest of October.As of October 6, Sipalay City has two barangays affected by local transmission, and that the inter-agency task force deemed that opening the city for tourists and non-essential travelers will contribute to the amount of Covid-19 positive cases, the order said.Lizares said that only essential travel will be allowed in Sipalay. These are medical-related transactions, business transactions to open establishments, government-related transactions, delivery...

The senators honored the life and legacy of the late Negros Occidental governor Alfredo Marañon Jr.It was Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri who sponsored Senate Resolution No. 544 that was unanimously passed on Tuesday, October 13.Zubiri, who traces his roots to Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, said he wanted to “honor my good friend and mentor” who recently passed away.“He was a visionary who changed Negros. His agricultural and environmental initiatives for the province were groundbreaking,” the senator added.Marañon, 84, passed away in a hospital in Bacolod City on October 1 due to complications associated with his cardiac health. He was governor from 2010 to 2019.Zubiri said that under the leadership of the governor, there was substantial growth in organi...

An Education official said Monday the Department of Education (DepEd) is preparing for the limited face-to-face classes in areas with no reported coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infections."At the moment, there are no face-to-face classes but the DepEd is really preparing for it," DepEd Undersecretary Tonisito Umali said in a television interview.Admitting that there are some errors in the self-learning modules (SLMs) distributed to the students early this month, Umali requested understanding from the public over the SLMs, which skipped quality assurance."Itatama po natin yan. Tayo ay nagsisikap na maging perpekto ang lahat. Sisikapin po natin kahit hindi perpekto ang ating sitwasyon (We'll correct the errors. We're doing our best to make everything perfect. We'll do everyt...

It’s all systems go for the registration of an initial nine million Filipinos under the national ID system starting Monday (October 12), Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said.“We have sufficient budget to begin the registration this year. And we are waiting for additional budget, which we have submitted so that we can begin the preparation right now to continue the registration next year,” he said during the virtual briefing for the kick-off activity Friday.The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) targets to conduct the registration under the Philippine Identification System (Philsys), initially in 32 provinces that are considered low-risk areas for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).These provinces have been selected based on the location of the bot...