Business

Transport group leaders announcing the staging of the strike at a press conference on Saturday.*Transport groups are staging a strike Monday, March 23, to demand fair and immediate distribution of government aid to all drivers, and for government measures to bring down fuel prices.The Police Regional Office Negros Island Region (PRO NIR), through the Bacolod City Police Office, has activated comprehensive security preparations for the strike, while Mayor Greg Gasataya announced that the city government will provide free rides for stranded passengers.Joining the protest are members of the United Negros Drivers and Operators Center-Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (UNDOC-PISTON), Bacolod Alliance for Commuters Operators Drivers Negros Island-Manibela (BA...

The waterway obstructions.*More than 80 owners of houses located at the Mambuloc Creek in Barangay 10, Bacolod City, have been served with notices to voluntarily remove illegal structures encroaching on the waterway. Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) workers are struggling to desilt the creek because parts of these houses are obstructing their path. Retired PCol. Levy Pangue, head of the City Legal Office Enforcement Team, said on Friday, March 20, that among the notices issued, was for the removal of a house right in the middle of the creek. He clarified that only the house extensions obstructing the waterway are being removed by the DPWH. There is an immediate need to remove the structures that block the waterway, the DPWH said. Pangue said that the DPWH heavy equipment c...

Protesting drivers in Bacolod City calling for subsidy for all.*Richard Caballero photoThe Department of Social Welfare and Development will start distributing aid to public transportation drivers in Negros Island soon, with another large increase in fuel prices expected next week. Public transportation drivers in Negros will receive P5,000 each under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation program, DSWD NIR Director Arwin Razo said on Friday, March 20. The distribution in Metro Manila is being completed. It is expected to start in the Negros after Holy Week, Razo said. Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) – NIR Director Gerry Llena reminded public transportation drivers not to charge fare hikes. They should not charge more than what is allowed under th...

Vallacar Transit Inc. (VTI), operator of Ceres buses, announced on Thursday, March 19, that it has called off its implementation of fare increases across all its routes nationwide. The VTI announcement came a day after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the suspension of fare hikes, “In my opinion, because we still have problems due to the war in the Middle East, I said maybe this is not the time to raise fares for our countrymen,” Marcos said. The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) had initially granted a provisional fare hike for provincial public utility buses effective March 14. VTI said that, in compliance with the president’s directive, it will operate at the “previous fare rates, with no increases implemented.” Jade Marquez, VTI Media Relations Officer,...

Protestors in Bacolod are calling for the removal of tax on fuel.* Richard Caballero Jr. photoA leader of a transport group that staged a protest in Bacolod City on Thursday, March 19, said they agree with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s order to suspend a planned fare hike because it would be insufficient to address the crippling effects of rising fuel costs. Rodulfo Gardoce Jr., chairperson of the United Negros Drivers and Operators Center-Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (UNDOC-PISTON), said a measly fare hike of P1 to P2 would not provide a long-term solution. They are instead calling on the president to immediately suspend the excise tax and Value Added Tax (VAT) on fuel to bring down pump prices, he said. UNDOC-PISTON staged a protest in front of the no...

The Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations (CONFED) is strongly opposing a substitute Senate Bill proposing another amendment to the Biofuels Act of 2006.  The amendment will “allow the importation of biofuel components such as bioethanol and biodiesel regardless of the supply level of locally produced biofuel components, if the price of blended gasoline and/or diesel engine fuels is higher by at least 5 percent compared to pure gasoline and/or diesel engine fuels”, a press release from CONFED said Thursday, March 19.   The approval of the amendment will cause additional damage to the Sugar Industry, which at present is suffering from the effects of low millgate prices, CONFED President Aurelio Gerardo J. Valderrama said in letter Wednesday, March 18, to Senate President Vicente Sot...

SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona and NACUSIP President Roland C. de la Cruz (l-r) during a recent meeting in Congress.*The National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines–Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (NACUSIP-TUCP) on Thursday, March 19, said it stands firmly with Rep. Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) in denouncing the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) for its “campaign of misinformation and baseless blame-shifting.”Benitez on Wednesday, March 18, denied claims circulating online that a congressional hearing triggered the decline in sugar prices, saying the market downturn was caused by oversupply and policy decisions, not legislative oversight.He described the allegations as baseless and irresponsible, noting that th...

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announcing the suspension of planned fare hikes for public transport*President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said he has ordered the immediate suspension of planned fare hikes to shield commuters from rising costs, while promising transport workers expanded government support, during a video message on Wednesday, March 18.The President said the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has been directed to defer the implementation of the fare increases, emphasizing that now is not the right time to impose additional costs on workers, students, and daily commuters who rely on the transport system.He assured transport operators and drivers that the government will expand support measures, including the rollout of free rides nationwide, to help mitigate the impa...

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II during the  online Local Chief Executives’ Briefing with the Department of Energy on Tuesday.* Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson on Wednesday, March 18, called on Negrenses not to resort to panic buying, to tighten their belts, and to hold off unnecessary travel as fuel prices continue to soar.“Let’s continue to pray a solution to the Middle East crisis will be found,” Lacson also said.Energy Undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella on Tuesday conducted an online briefing with local chief executives on the country's oil supply situation. Fuentebella informed them that the country has more than 30 days of fuel reserves, Lacson said.He also assured that the Philippines is looking for oth...

Many Negrenses drive up to Don Salvador Benedicto on weekends.*Ronnie Baldonado photoNegros Occidental’s tourism industry and the upcoming Panaad sa Negros Festival are expected to be affected by the rising fuel prices, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Wednesday, March 18.Domestic tourism will be affected with less people traveling because of the rise in fuel prices, he said.For example fewer people will be driving up to Don Salvador Benedicto on weekends, he said.Lacson also said there could be a drop in attendees from out of town at the Panaad sa Negros Festival, which is scheduled to run from April 13 to 19.Despite these concerns, the governor expects that Bacolod residents will still flock to the festival in large numbers.*