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Negros Occidental has no plan to close its borders with Iloilo after three highly transmissible Omicron sub-variant BA.2.12.1 cases were detected there, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said Wednesday, May 18.“We’ll have to observe how it goes,” he said, pointing out that the sub-variant has been detected not only in Western Visayas but in other parts of the country.COVID-19 admissions in hospitals are very low so most likely these are very mild cases, he said.“In the meantime, we don’t intend to close our borders, I think it’s too early for that. Let’s just do our share and protect ourselves,” Lacson said.Right now there is really no reason for large crowds to converge because the campaign period is over, he said.He stressed the need to continue to wear face masks.Two Omic...

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat and Hanky Lee (right) with Joey Gaston at the Chapel of the Cartwheels in Manapla.*Ronnie Baldonado photoTourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said she brought hotelier Hanky Lee to Negros Occidental on Wednesday in the hope that he will invest in the province.“I hope he really decides to put up a hotel here,” said Puyat, who was in Negros Occidental on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 17 and 18.Lee is the owner and founder of the Filipino vintage-modern The Henry hotels, that have stories to tell of the localities they are located in, she said, citing the rich heritage Negros Occidental has to offer.Lee was so surprised with what he saw, he wants to return to Negros and bring his friends, she said.Local and foreign tourists...

The new Provincial Administration Center (PAC) could still be built at Aguinaldo Street in Bacolod City, and not in Talisay City as planned.That is because if it is built on property owned by the provincial government in Talisay City the Government Procurement and Policy Board has ruled that a rebidding would have to be conducted, and it is not certain if the winning contractor, Dynamic Builders, will agree to that, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said Wednesday, May 18.Ricardo Yanson Jr. is the president of Dynamic Builders.Lacson said he is waiting for the reply of the contractor, which he hopes to receive before the end of the month.The contractor is holding a legitimate contract to build the PAC in Bacolod so his reply is needed, he added.They will proceed depending on the...

Dengue cases in Negros Occidental have increased by 126.16 percent this year, which is the highest in Western Visayas, Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, provincial health officer, said Thursday, May 19.There have been 389 dengue cases in Negros Occidental from January 1 to May 7, or an increase by 217 cases compared to the 172 cases in 2021, he said.Five persons have also died from dengue in Negros Occidental this year, compared to three in 2021, he said.La Carlota City, Himamaylan City, Calatrava, Talisay City and Toboso have one dengue death each this year, Tumimbang said.San Carlos City has the highest number of dengue cases at 36, followed by Hinigaran with 34, La Carlota City – 32, Himamaylan City – 30, Sagay City – 24, Cadiz City – 21, Kabankalan City – 21, Calatrava -18, Cauayan...

The Negros Occidental provincial government will start distributing the P91 million assistance of the National Housing Authority to the Typhoon “Odette” victims of the province next week, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said Wednesday, May 18.The distribution was put on hold during the March 25 to May 8 election ban.It is expected that each family affected by the typhoon in December 2021 will receive P5,000 each, based on lists of recipients submitted by local government units.Lacson said the provincial government received the NHA Memorandum of Agreement for the distribution of the assistance on April 20 during the election ban.To seek an exemption from the ban they were told by the Comelec to deposit a fee of P10,000 and hearings would have to be conducted, Lacson said.Consid...

Martian Muyco photoThe Robredo People’s Council of Negros Occidental and Bacolod City said they are alarmed by the Vote Counting Machine (VCM) malfunctions, massive vote buying and other campaign violations and malpractices that occurred with wanton impunity during the campaign period and the May 9 polls.All of these served to diminish the credibility of the electoral process, the RPC statement signed by Rafael Coscolluela – RPC Negros convenor and Jessie Suarez – RPC Bacolod convenor that was released Wednesday, May 18, said.They said they are still keenly observing the outcome of the random manual audit being done now by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Manila.“We are interested in comparing the results of the random manual audit with the election returns and the ...

Rep. Stephen Paduano, who is from Negros Occidental, has won another term as representative of the Abang Lingkod Partylist group in the 19th Congress.It will be his last term in Congress, he said on Tuesday, May 17.Paduano is a House minority leader in the current 18th Congress.There are 63 seats reserved for party list representatives in the House of Representatives.The P3PWD Partylist group, which former Comelec commissioner Rowena Guanzon campaigned for, also garnered one seat, Comelec data on Tuesday showed.ACT-CIS, or the Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support Partylist, was the topnotcher with tree seats.The 1Rider Partylist, Tingog, 4PS, Ako Bikol and Sagip have won two seats each, while the rest of the winning partylist groups had one sea...