This Week in Bacolod (August 7 to 13, 2022)

If you want to hear travel updates in Bacolod, here’s some news! The Department of Health (DOH) announces that Bacolod City and 12 local government units (LGUs) in Negros Occidental remain under Alert Level 1 classification effective August 1 until August 15.

However, Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental are still under the Alert Level 2 classification. According to the DOH, these provinces remain under the assigned alert level ‘without prejudice to their respective component cities and municipalities may be under a different alert level classification’. [1]

More so, the 12 LGUs placed under Alert Level 1 are the cities of Cadiz, La Carlota, Sagay, Talisay, and Victorias, along with the municipalities of Candoni, EB Magalona, Ilog, Pontevedra, Pulupandan, San Enrique, and Valladolid.

DOH added that these areas maintained low-risk classification regarding total bed utilization and COVID case classification, thus maintaining their alert level classification at Alert Level 1, the country’s lowest and new normal category.

The coastal road in Barangay Cayhagan, located in Sipalay City, Negros Occidental, paves the avenue for more tourism development in Negros. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) announced the road’s completion.

The said completion of the 3.5-kilometer coastal road in Sipalay City shall grant travelers and tourists a new road going to Negros’s most sought-after beaches and other tourist attractions. DPWH has also added that the route’s construction included working on the installation of metal guard rails, slope protection, application of the reflectorized thermoplastic pavement markings, and providing post and hazard markers.

Barangay Cayhagan in Sipalay City also boasts naturally beautiful white sand beaches and clear turquoise waters that attract travelers to Negros. With the new and upgraded road, beaches in Sipalay City shall be more exposed to tourists and help to boost the agricultural and marine products in Negros. Economic and tourism shall be expected to improve along with the new road completion.

The mayors in cities and municipalities of Negros Occidental support the bill in reestablishing the NIR, as the House of Representatives eyes on pushing the bill further.

Lawmakers from Negros have joined in filing House Bill 1446 seeking the new Region 6B or NIR to be made up of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor.

The Association of Chief Executives (ACE) in Negros Occidental came up with a resolution to support the reestablishing and more improved bill of the NIR, led by its president, Victorias City Mayor Miguel Benitez or Mayor Javi.

Moreover, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson also expressed his thoughts that the said resolution from the ACE shall help with the efforts in the inclusion of the island province of Siquijor in the implementation of the NIR.

Previously, former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte scrapped the NIR due to financial constraints.

Wala Usik, a Hiligaynon word for ‘no waste’ or ‘nothing wasted’ was initially practiced last 2021 by the Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation Foundation Inc. (PRRCFI) to advocate for zero waste in their garbage disposal system.

The PRRCFI used this Hiligaynon term in its campaign in Negros to reduce single-use plastic waste. The Negros-based organization does its campaign with activities that impact sustainable development in Negros Island and biodiversity conservation.

Along with the campaign is doing environment-friendly alternatives such as using metal straws to replace plastic straws, avoiding plastic packaging in deliveries and takeout orders, and using native baskets and compostable leaves as packaging. A local café in Barangay Mansilingan also participates in the said campaign in its own ways: by giving discounts to customers who bring their own mugs. The same coffee shop also offers coffee beans inside refillable glass bottles instead of using plastic pouches.

With this, making small changes and creating sustainable solutions for the environment will significantly impact a more hopeful future for the future generations in the province of Negros.

The Bacolod City government provides enhanced health care delivery to the public through initiating a 3-pronged service under Bacolod City Comprehensive Health Program (BacCHP).

Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez says that the program shall focus on promotive, preventive, and curative aspects in addressing the inequity in the existing system. The program shall be based on Executive Order 11, a series of 2022. [2]

Bacolod City residents have already started registering in their respective barangays.

The BacCHP has additional features that ensure delivery of an integrated health care system among the residents and health care coverage through maximizing resources and programs in the government.

With the implementation of preventive health care services, a resident can present a BacCHP Family Health Card to his assigned barangay health station to avail of e-consultations and necessary annual medical check-ups. A member or a resident shall also be qualified to avail of free medicines and laboratory services covered under the Konsulta Program of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation.

The Bacolod City Health Office shall also participate in this program by enhancing existing health programs under the promotive services aspect.

All the programs under this shall be applied and implemented through barangay health care workers, barangay nutrition scholars, the Office of the Senior Citizens’ Affairs, and other related sectors and local communities in Bacolod City.

Rising COVID positivity rates have been observed in Visayas and Mindanao by the OCTA Research Group.

The positivity rate refers to the number of individuals who report more favorable results among those tested for COVID-19.

As of July 30, 5 provinces in the Visayas are already classified under very high positivity rates, reaching above 20%. These are Capiz, Aklan, Antique, Bohol, and Negros Oriental. Other provinces and areas in Visayas and Mindanao have also been observed with high positivity rates up to 17%, and these are Cebu, Leyte, Davao del Sur, Misamis Oriental, Negros Occidental, South Cotabato, and Zamboanga del Sur. [3]

According to the World Health Organization, the recommended positivity rate should be at only 5% or lower.

CLMMRH in Bacolod City has set a limit to extreme cases only for its access under the Department of Pediatrics, taking effect immediately.

It was found out that some patient watchers turned out positive for COVID after staying in low-risk areas, according to CLMMRH medical chief Dr. Julius Drilon.

The hospital management shall continue to impose regulations set by the National Inter-Agency Task Force and the DOH, as Drilon says that we are still in the state of the pandemic.

Visit Yoorekka Magazine for more travel and COVID-19 updates and guidelines in Bacolod and Negros!