Tuesday, February 17

Business

Sibulan port damaged by ‘wayward’ barge: PCG 

Sibulan port damaged by ‘wayward’ barge: PCG 

Business, Top Stories
A roll-on, roll-off barge, driven by strong waves, hits a portion of the Sibulan port in Negros Oriental on Monday afternoon.*Video screen grab from Carene Borbon Facebook/courtesy of Coast Guard Station Negros Oriental The fast craft port in Sibulan, Negros Oriental sustained partial damage when a commercial roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) vessel lost control amid large waves and collided with the front section of the port. Lt. Marionne Abigail Enopia, Coast Guard Station Negros Oriental commander, said Tuesday, Feb. 3, that M/V Geok Chong II of Maayo Shipping Lines was departing from its port Monday afternoon to move to a different site when it was swept by powerful waves toward the fast craft port. “The barge was undocking from its port to transfer to the nearb...
GCash lending arm Fuse advances AI use to strengthen responsible collections practices and protect customer dignity

GCash lending arm Fuse advances AI use to strengthen responsible collections practices and protect customer dignity

Business
Fuse Financing Inc., the lending arm of GCash, advances responsible AI in lending to strengthen collection practices and protect customer dignity, enhancing financial inclusion(L-R) Alex Song, Chief Operating Officer, Wiz.Ai; Pebbles Sy, Chief Technology and Operations Officer, Mynt, the parent company of GCash;  Jianfeng Lu, Chief Executive Officer, Wiz.Ai; Tony Isidro, President and CEO of Fuse Financing Inc., the lending arm of GCash.  Fuse Financing Inc., the lending arm of GCash, is enhancing its customer servicing as it expands its strategic partnership with artificial intelligence (AI) solutions provider Wiz.AI, automating key processes within its collections operations, particularly Quality Assurance (QA) to strengthen the audit proce...
Celebrate everyday wins with McSavers Snack and  Match

Celebrate everyday wins with McSavers Snack and  Match

Business
For McDonald's, every win deserves a celebration. From waking up early, arriving on time, or even avoiding traffic - they all deserve a celebration! Starting January 15, celebrate your everyday wins at McDonald's for as low as P59.McSavers Snack and Match gets more snaaaks sa sarap with the new Smokey Melt Chicken Sandwich,  available solo at P59, or as combo with other snacking favorites at P79 . Available for a limited time only, the Smokey Melt Chicken Sandwich is a delightful combination of smokey, meaty flavor with a tangy, spicy kick. Just perfect for those looking to try a new, flavorful snack.“We’ve said this last year and we’ll say it again: McDonald’s is about making our customers feel that their everyday wins are special. With McSavers Snack and Match, we want to he...
Bacolod gov’t  provides assistance to family of 12-year-old who drowned

Bacolod gov’t provides assistance to family of 12-year-old who drowned

Business, Top Stories
The Bacolod City government has provided assistance to the family of a 12-year-old student who drowned in a river in Barangay Vista Alegre on Wednesday afternoon, January 28.The victim, identified as Johneil Beligan, was a Grade VI student.Reports indicate that Beligan and several classmates went to the river after an early school dismissal, a press release from the Bacolod City Communications Office (BCCO) said on Thursday..According to witnesses Beligan jumped into the water and his chin accidentally hit a classmate’s head. The blow caused him to lose consciousness and sink, the BCCO said.A nearby resident attempted a rescue, but the depth of the water delayed retrieval by approximately 10 minutes.Beligan was rushed to a hospital but was pronounced dead despite resusc...
Gamboa warns of no water supply, calls for return of water district to BACIWA

Gamboa warns of no water supply, calls for return of water district to BACIWA

Business
The hot and dry season is here and Bacolod Councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr. warned on Wednesday, January 28, of another “no water supply situation” in Bacolod City, citing a repeat of issues about the non-payment of past dues and loans owed by the BACIWA-PrimeWater to its suppliers.Gamboa, in a press release, expressed concern that Bacolod residents may once again face threats of total water supply cuts thus reiterated his call for BACIWA to be restored and returned to consumer-households and re-assert BACIWA’s mandate as a government owned and controlled corporation (GOCC).He questioned the usefulness of the Bacolod Bulk Water, Inc. (BBWI) system if half of Bacolod’s water consumer-households have no pipeline connection, no access to pipelines and the other half are connected to aging,...
Ministry of Social Services and Development-BARMM partners with GCash to expand cashless disbursement under FAST Project, roll out Bangsamoro Cards

Ministry of Social Services and Development-BARMM partners with GCash to expand cashless disbursement under FAST Project, roll out Bangsamoro Cards

Business
The Ministry of Social Services and Development of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MSSD-BARMM) has partnered with GCash, the Philippines’ leading finance super app and largest cashless ecosystem, to expand its cashless disbursement system under the Financial Assistance System Transformation (FAST) Project, an initiative designed to make the distribution of social assistance faster, more efficient, and more transparent for beneficiaries across the region.The Ministry of Social Services and Development–BARMM partners with GCash to expand cashless disbursement under the FAST Project, enabling faster and more accessible delivery of social assistance through Bangsamoro Cards powered by GCashWhile MSSD-BARMM has already begun transitioning to digital payouts, the par...
Grab, MOVE IT Strengthen On-trip Protection with Expanded COCOLIFE Partnership

Grab, MOVE IT Strengthen On-trip Protection with Expanded COCOLIFE Partnership

Business
Grab Philippines and motorcycle taxi platform MOVE IT have expanded their emergency insurance support with COCOLIFE, widening hospital assistance and financial protection for both rider-partners and passengers in a bid to make coverage more accessible and comprehensive for users of the on-demand mobility services.Through the deepened partnership, rider-partners and passengers gain 24/7 access to a wider network of more than 700 COCOLIFE-accredited hospitals nationwide for emergency situations involving a Grab or MOVE IT ride.The expanded hospital assistance with COCOLIFE strengthens Grab Philippines and MOVE IT’s protection ecosystem by addressing the most time-critical gap in on-trip incidents: emergency care and hospitalization support for both rider-partners and passengers. ...
Guv calls for nat’l government action as artificial sweetener imports surge

Guv calls for nat’l government action as artificial sweetener imports surge

Business, Top Stories
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson (second from right) at Congress' public consultation on the sugar industry last week*Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson is calling on the national government to protect the local sugar industry and public health amid the increasing importation of artificial sweeteners.The sugar industry of Negros Occidental continues to face serious pressures that call for thoughtful and balanced policy responses, Lacson said in a statement issued Monday, Jan. 26.“As the country’s major sugar-producing province, we are particularly concerned about recent developments in the local sugar and sweetener market and their implications on economic sustainability, consumer protection, and public health”, he said.“We respectfully stress the importance of balanced reg...
Bacolod City, DOE sign partnership for waste-to-energy, solar programs

Bacolod City, DOE sign partnership for waste-to-energy, solar programs

Business, Top Stories
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin and Mayor Greg Gasataya (2nd and 3rd from left) after the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement witnessed by Bacolod Environment and Natural Resources Office head Allyn Luv Dignadice on Monday.*The Bacolod City government and the Department of Energy have taken a major step toward sustainable urban development with the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for Waste-to-Energy (WTE) development, along with the launch of the “Solar Solutions for Government: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in Public Buildings” program on Monday, Jan 26.The solar program aims to institutionalize energy efficiency in the public sector by deploying technologies such as light-emitting diode (LED) lighting systems, inverter-type air-conditioning units, smart m...
NACUSIP calls for release of Sugar Board minutes

NACUSIP calls for release of Sugar Board minutes

Business, Top Stories
Ronnie Baldonado file photoCiting a crisis of transparency within the industry, sugar workers and small-scale farmers have formally petitioned the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to release the minutes of meetings involving controversial sugar orders.The National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (NACUSIP-TUCP) and the NACUSIP Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Council in a letter Monday, Jan. 26, requested full disclosure from Department of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel and Sugar Regulatory Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona of the minutes of Sugar Order No. 8 (Series of 2025), as well as Sugar Orders No. 2 and 3 (Series of 2026).The request follows a public consultation held on January 23, where stak...
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