Senators to hold consultative gab on COVID-19 response

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

TALISAY City – Senators Panfilo Lacson and Vicente Sotto III will hold a consultative meeting with local officials to discuss how Bacolod and Negros Occidental are faring in the pandemic, particularly in the vaccination rollout.

The senators, accompanied by former Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) President and General Manager Jesus Clint Aranas and former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, met some members of the media at The Ruins in Talisay City Thursday, as they began their first tour in the Visayas.

Lacson and Sotto recently declared their candidacies for president and vice president, respectively, in the May 2022 elections.

Sotto said they wanted to know how the budget of the government is affecting the province.

“We want to touch base in Bacolod, we would want to feel the pulse of the people,” Sotto said in a press briefing.

Based on data from the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) as of September 12, Bacolod has inoculated 182,537 individuals, including 113,286 who were fully vaccinated or have received their second dose.

The city is intensifying its vaccination drive amid the current surge of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases here.

For the province, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson is anticipating a record-breaking number of COVID-19 cases as hospitals in the province have reached its full capacity, stressing that “this is not a joke anymore, and we have to protect ourselves.”

Lacson said the national government has procured 187 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines that are set to arrive in the country soon.

Meanwhile, the two senators did not comment when asked if they will endorse local candidates here for the 2022 elections.

Former third district rep. Alfredo Benitez has challenged incumbent Mayor Evelio Leonardia for the mayoralty position in the polls next year.

Sotto said Bacolod is a battleground for local officials.

“It really is a pleasant problem,” he said, adding that he’s good friends with both officials.

For his part, Senator Lacson said that “sometimes it is best not to interfere in the competition in the local especially if both are allies.”

“It’s better to be friends with everybody,” Senator Lacson said.

Before their trip to Negros, the duo also visited Iloilo and called on Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas and Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr.