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Pertussis can be prevented by good respiratory hygiene, the Department of Health said.*Negros Occidental has 14 suspected pertussis cases and Bacolod City has four, health officials said on Wednesday, April 3.Aside from a 2-month-old baby in Negros Occidental who tested positive for pertussis and has since recovered, the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine’s test results of 14 other suspected cases are not out yet, Dr. Girlie Pinongan, provincial health officer, said.The Bacolod City Health Office sent samples of four suspected pertussis cases involving two-month old babies for testing, and one was negative, Dr. Grace Tan, CHO Environment Sanitation Division head, said.The Bacolod City Sangguniang Panlungsod on Wednesday passed a resolution authored by Councilor Kalaw...

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez presides over the coordinating meeting.*Bacolod City Fire Station photo Controlled burning, grass cutting, and cleanup activities will be undertaken to mitigate the increasing grassfires in Bacolod City. The mitigating measures were discussed at a city government and multi-agency coordination meeting on El Niño and La Niña convened by Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez at his office at the Bacolod City Government Center on Wednesday, April 3.The mitigation measures were discussed at a   city government and multi-agency    coordination meeting on El Niño and La Niña preparedness measures convened by Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez at his office at the Bacolod City Government Center on Wednesday, Apri...

Come up with market-ready products that Himamaylan City can be renowned for, Mayor Raymund Tongson challenged local producers from the  19 barangays of his city on Wednesday, April 3. “We are looking for these top #PrideProducts that will best represent Himamaylan City,” Tongson said, adding that the products have to be “rooted in Himamaylan’s local culture, industries, and creativity.” Himamaylan offers a bounty of fresh produce and locally made products, Tongson said. However, the local government is on the look out for the best products and services that will help boost tourism and industries in the city, he said. Tongson assured the local producers that the LGU will support the development of local products and ensure that they are world-class and market...

The  El Niño drought  has damaged  crops worth  P770 million in Western Visayas, the  Office of Civil Defense-6 reported  on Wednesday, April 3. Iloilo had the highest crop damage at P519 million,  OCD-6 Director Raul Fernandez said.Crop damage in Antique was  P130 million, Negros Occidental - P78 million, Aklan - P30 million, and Capiz -P12 million, he added. Fernandez said that Guimaras has no reported damages as crops produced at the province are mainly mangoes. He also said that Himamaylan City is still the lone local government unit in the region to have reported water shortages and they are still monitoring other towns and cities. Despite the increased crop damages, the region cannot be declared under a State ...

Junior and senior high school students of the Dumaguete City National High School in Negros Oriental go home after learning of the indefinite suspension of classes.*PNA/ Mary Judaline Flores Partlow photo Negros Oriental Gov. Manuel Sagarbarria declared on Wednesday, April 3,  the suspension of face-to-face classes at all levels in public and private schools due to the extreme heat induced by the El Niño phenomenon. The declaration came amid public clamor from residents and netizens in Negros Oriental for the suspension of in-person classes due to a projected rising heat index in the coming days. “To ensure the welfare and safety of the public, most especially the pupils and students, teachers and personnel, against the extreme heat condition in the province, the...

Manila-based bands Mayonnaise, Dilaw, and Mitoy and the Draybers will perform at the seven-day Panaad sa Negros Festival at the Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod City on April 15 to 21. With less than 10 days before the celebration of the provincial festival, the Negros Occidental Provincial Government released the schedule of various  talks, programs, concerts, and competitions joined by representatives from 32 towns and cities. Prior to the festival proper, pre-pageant activities of the  Lin-ay sang Negros will be held on April 12 for the  press presentation and talent competition, and April 14 for  the  festival costume competition at the  Ayala Capitol Central Bacolod event center. During the  festival opening on  Apri...

Mayor Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez Benitez  is ready to release the Performance Based Bonus (PBB) to all qualified Bacolod City government employees once the Department of  the Interior and Local Government (DILG) releases the necessary guidelines. Barangay Captain Caesar Distrito, the mayor’s spokesman, said  that the law requires that the  guidelines should be released  by the DILG before the bonus can be given. "Mayor Albee made sure that there is an allocation for the Performance Based Bonus in the current budget, and assures the employees that they will release it once the guidelines are available,"  Distrito said. “Mayor Albee doesn’t want the employees to receive it and because of the absence of the guidelines, they might ...

The damaged  religious images.* San Isidro Parish Binalbagan Facebook page photos  A 39-year-old man drove his tricycle into the San Isidro Labrador Catholic Church in Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, and ran to the altar where he toppled and broke six religious statues in the middle of a mass at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 3. The suspect Rolly Semira, 39, of Barangay San Teodoro, Binalbagan, is currently detained, PLt. Glen Portunes, Binalbagan deputy police chief, said. The police filed complaints for malicious mischief, alarm and scandal and interruption of religious worship against the suspect before the prosecutor’s office, Portunes said, adding that the damage to the religious images was placed at P300,000. Kabankalan Bishop Louie Galbines said at aro...

Holy Week in Bacolod City.*Ronnie Baldonado file photoThe observance of Holy Week in Western Visayas was generally peaceful with the crime rate down 27 percent compared to the same period last year, the Police Regional Office-6 said Tuesday, April 2.The crime incidents in the region decreased by 120 or 27.33 percent from last year’s Holy Week, it said.“The decisive interventions and collective efforts of all line units through the effective implementation of the operational concepts focused on enhance managing police operations (EMPO) strategies contributed to the peaceful observance of the Holy Week,” a PRO- 6 press release said.During Holy Week, PRO-6 deployed 3,100 police and 2,986 augmentation units from the Bureau of Fire Protection, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Ph...