Expect large increases in fuel prices starting Tuesday, November 4.Diesel prices will increase by P2.50 to P2.70 per liter, Unioil Petroleum Philippines said.Gasoline prices will increase by P1.30 to P1.50 per liter, it added.*
Water quality testing in 13 stations across the coastal area of Bais City, Negros Oriental.* Photo courtesy of Bais City-PIOThe Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has mobilized a team with partner government agencies and local government units (LGUs) to contain and assess the impact of a massive wastewater spill in Bais City, Negros Oriental.Some 255,000 cubic meters of molasses wastewater that leaked into Bais Bay on Oct. 26 from the Universal Robina Corporation (URC) ethanol distillery plant are posing a serious threat to marine life within the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape.Bais has declared a state of calamity.“Initial water quality assessments conducted by the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) indicate low levels of dissolved oxygen in aff...
Dead fish in Manjuyod after the waste water spill.*photo courtesy of MarGale Bancairen Facebook pageThe Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has advised against collecting and consuming dead fish and other aquatic organisms from the coastal waters of Bais and Manjuyod in Negros Oriental.This is a health precaution, as the dead aquatic life may contain harmful pathogens, chemicals, and pollutants that pose risks to human health, BFAR 7 Regional Director Mario Ruinata said in an advisory Tuesday, which was released to the media on Wednesday.Ruinata issued the advisory following the collapse of a wall of the 20-hectare wastewater lagoon of the Universal Robina Corporation (URC) Bais Distillery in Bais City, Negros Occidental, on Sunday.The collapse caused the waste...
Chief Financial Officer of Fuse, Gabby Lacuesta explaining about building confidence in the reliable and effective end-to-end lending system of GCash—covering acquisition, underwriting, collections, and recoveries—is the key to securing funding partnerships.Fuse Financing, Inc., the lending arm of the Philippines’ leading finance super app and largest cashless ecosystem GCash, underscored the importance of innovative financing structures at the 5th Asia Finance Forum, hosted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at its headquarters in Manila.The forum highlighted a critical industry pain point: fintech companies face capital constraints that limit their ability to scale, as traditional debt markets remain restrictive. This bottleneck slows progress in extending credit to the underban...
Recognized for the second consecutive year, Sazon is lauded for her transformative leadership and initiatives that drive positive change and financial inclusion for FilipinosFor her transformative leadership and unwavering commitment to financial inclusion, Martha Sazon, the president and CEO of Mynt, the parent company of GCash, has once again been recognized as one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in Asia 2025. This marks the second consecutive year she has earned a place on the prestigious list, which honors the most influential women shaping the future of the region across industries, including business, science, entertainment, and sports.Martha Sazon, President and CEO of Mynt, the parent company of GCash, named among Fortune’s 100 Most Powerful Women in Asia fo...
Commuting is a daily routine shared by millions of Filipinos, often filled with long rides and unpredictable moments. To provide peace of mind on these journeys, GCash, through its in-app digital insurance platform GInsure, has partnered with BPI MS Insurance to launch PasaHERO Protect, an affordable and inclusive accident insurance that covers all forms of public transport* including jeepneys, buses, trains, and even motorcycles used in ride-hailing services like TNVS (Transport Network Vehicle Services) within the Philippines.In addition, the policy’s double indemnity feature for accidents that occur on public transport aims to offer even more peace of mind.Available through the GCash app, PasaHERO Protect provides Filipinos with up to Php 500,000 in the event of death or per...
Seven villages have been identified as the location of the proposed 150-megawatt wind power project of Bago-Negros Energy Corp. in Bago City, Negros Occidental.The areas — Calumangan, Napoles, Taloc, Sampinit, Busay, Balingasag and Lag-asan — have been identified in the notice of public scoping set on Oct. 28 released by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) Environment Management Bureau (EMB) in Negros Island Region."Public scoping is an early stage in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process where the proponent aims to provide an overview of the proposed project, gather issues and concerns, and other relevant information to provide the scope of work and terms of reference for the preparation of the environmental impact statement," the EMB-NIR said i...
Prices of liveweight pigs have dropped this month, but hog raisers remain optimistic as demand is expected to rise in the last two months of the year, an Alliance of Hog Raisers Association of Negros Occidental (AHRANO) official said on Wednesday, Oct. 22.AHRANO President Ric Lauron said that the current liveweight price of pigs range from P150 to P160 per kilogram, while pork meat prices are between P280 and P320 per kilo.In the previous months, liveweight prices were pegged at P160 to P165 per kilo, he said.Hog raisers are managing to break even with the high cost of production inputs, he said.Lauron said during AHRANO’s meeting on Wednesday that they are anticipating higher sales in November and December as pork demand increases ahead of the holiday season.Hog raiser...
An Iloilo-based sugarcane planters' group is calling on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to immediately intervene to save the Philippine sugar industry amid the drop in millgate sugar prices.The Jalasig Sugarcane Planters Association Inc. (JSPAI) in an open letter to the president on Monday, October 20, called for "accountability, decisive governance and immediate intervention to preserve the strength and viability of the Philippine sugar industry."The group said that should the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) “leadership fail to arrest the situation and safeguard the integrity of local production, we respectfully urge that they step aside to allow more capable leadership to take decisive action".JSPAI, which has 5,666 members, warned that the livelihoods of thousands of Fi...
SSS Bacolod Branch head Brenda Cruz, Senior Vice President for Mindanao Operations Group Dr. Lilani Benedian, Senior Vice President for Visayas Operations Group Alberto Montalbo and Commissioner Eva Arcos with CLMMRH Medical Center Chief II Dr. Joan Cerrada and Chief Executive Officer Shareen Caelian (l-r) after the ceremonial signing of the MOA.*A total of 133 Job Order (JO) and Contract of Service (COS) workers of the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) are now covered as self-employed members of the Social Security System (SSS) under the KaSSSangga Collect Program (KCP).SSS Senior Vice President for Visayas Operations Group Alberto Montalbo said that CLMMRH will implement an automatic salary deduction scheme for these workers' SSS and EC contributio...
