Negros Occidental is under blue or heightened alert effective March 27 to April 1 in observance of Holy Week or Semana Santa.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, in a memorandum released Friday, March 22, advised all city, municipality, and barangay Disaster Risk Reduction Management Centers in the province to raise the alert status in their respective operations centers to blue alert.
Lacson said there is a need for heightened road safety measures and deployment of responders to different areas of mass convergence like churches, beaches, resorts, and rivers.
He also reminded the public to be careful during their travels over the holidays.
"El Niño is still around so let's keep ourselves hydrated," the governor said.
Meanwhile, Lacson reminded Negrenses to also remember why Holy Week is being celebrated, which is "the sacrifice He (Jesus Christ) went through to save us all."
"We should be thankful for that sacrifice," he said.
Lacson said he will spend his Holy Week in his hometown of San Carlos City.*