Business

Jan252026 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

3 Hinoba-an fishermen rescued by int’l vessel

The rescued fishermen (3rd to 5thfrom left) on board the Singaporean vessel* Three fishermen from Hinoba-an, Negros Occidental, are safely back on dry land after a harrowing 36-hour ordeal adrift in the Sulu Sea. The trio were rescued by a passing international vessel on Sunday, January 25, sparking a coordinated relief effort by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG). The fishermen, all residents of Barangay Culipapa, Hinoba-an, were left at the mercy of the currents after their fishing boat, MB Princess Henna, sank in open waters, the Coast Guard District Western Visayas reported. For two days and one night, the fishermen remained adrift until they were spotted by the crew of the MV MAUD, a Singaporean-flagged bulk carrier. The ...

Jan252026 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Dinagsa Festival draws thousands, mayor eyes Guinness World Record

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Sicablun Quatro, the street dance competition champion.* Ronnie Baldonado photo The celebration of the 52nd Dinagsa Festival in Cadiz City hit fever pitch with the Street Dance Competition, Lamhitanay sa Dalan, and street parties that drew thousands of spectators on Sunday, Jan. 25, Mayor Salvador Escalante said. The mayor noted that the festival attracted about 300,000 spectators, drawing visitors not only from across Negros Occidental but from various parts of the country. “It gets bigger every year,” he said. Escalante said that they are aiming for Lamhitanay sa Dalan to be recognized by the Guinness World Records as the biggest paint party in the world. Lamhitanay sa Dalan is a massive, city-wide celebration where thousands of participants roam the streets to sme...

Jan232026 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Losses in sugar revenues ‘could exceed P20B’

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Rep. Manuel Frederick Ko, Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, Senator Francis Pangilinan, Rep. Mark Enverga, Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson. Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer and Rep. Mercedes Alvarez (l-r) at the public consultation.* If low millgate sugar prices remain unchecked, losses in revenues to the sugar industry could exceed P20 billion by June 2026, Rafael Coscolluela, former Sugar Regulatory Administrator, said on Friday, Jan. 23. Coscolluela was one of a battery of speakers from planters, millers, and labor groups who spoke at a public consultation on the decline in sugar prices led by Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform chairperson Sen. Francis Pangilinan and House Committee on Agriculture and ...

Jan222026 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Panay sugar farmers stage protest ahead of congressional inquiry

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The Panay farmers protesting in Passi, Iloilo, on Thursday.* About 1,000 farmers from 14 planters associations in Panay Island held a protest rally against low sugar and molasses prices in Passi City, Iloilo, on Thursday, Jan. 22, ahead of the congressional hearing on the plight of sugar industry on Friday.Sugar leaders are hoping something good will come out of the joint Senate and House inquiry on the decline in millgate sugar at Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay City, Negros Occidental.“I hope something good will come out from it that will help the sugar industry survive,” Enrique Rojas, National Federation of Sugarcane Planters president, said.“For the record UNIFED hopes they will act on its request to pass a bill enforcing crop loans from all banks so that the farmer...

Jan222026 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

P55M slaughterhouse inaugurated in Murcia

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The inauguration of the slaughterhouse in Brgy. Alegria, Murcia.* Richard Malihan photoNegros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson inaugurated the P55 million Municipal Abattoir in Brgy. Alegria, Murcia, on Thursday, Jan. 22, marking a significant upgrade to the town’s agricultural infrastructure.The state-of-the-art slaughterhouse was designed to ensure the sanitary processing of livestock, safeguarding public health by meeting national food safety standards and improving the quality of meat products, the governor said.The project was implemented through the Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), with shared funding from the World Bank, the national government, and the provincial government of Negros Occidental.The establishment of the...

Jan222026 by Nanette GuadalquiverNo Comments

Tinagong Dagat’ in northern Negros open to trekkers until Feb. 15

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Tinagong Dagat within Mount Mandalagan inside the Northern Negros Natural Park (NNNP) as shown during the dry season. *Photo courtesy of NNNP/Aaron PitogoThe Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will allow trekkers to visit the popular Tinagong Dagat within the Northern Negros Natural Park (NNNP) from Jan. 22 to Feb. 15, before its temporary closure starting Feb. 16.In an advisory on Thursday, Protected Area Superintendent Ma. Gina Consolacion Gerangaya said applications for mountaineering permits to Danao/Tinagong Dagat will be accepted at the NNNP-Protected Area Management Office satellite site at the DENR compound in Barangay 39 in this city.Interested individuals or organized groups may submit their applications, she added.“Tinagong Dagat shall be plac...

Jan212026 by Digicast NegrosNo Comments

Sugar farmers to hold rally on low sugar, molasses prices

Business

File photo courtesy of Butch Bacaoco*To highlight their grave concern over low sugar and molasses prices, sugar farmers and their families, spearheaded by the Jalasig Sugarcane Planters Association, other planters associations and other sugar industry stakeholders in Panay, will hold a rally on Thursday, January 22, at the Passi Public Plaza.“We are holding this rally to emphasize the severity of our plight. The persistently low mill-gate prices of sugar and molasses have resulted in widespread financial losses to us. These current price levels threaten the survival of farming households and the sustainability of the sugar industry,” Jalasig president Hernando Y. Divinagracia Jr. said in a press release on Wednesday, Jan. 21.“Unregulated and excessive importation, coupled with ...

Jan212026 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Coalition calls for import ban, SRA charter amendments

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The NACUSIP ARBC press conference.*A coalition of small-scale sugar farmers, agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs), and workers in the sugarcane and ethanol industries called for an end to sugar importation ahead of a congressional hearing at Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay City this Friday.During a press conference held by the National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Council (NACUSIP ARBC) in Bacolod City on Wednesday, Jan. 21, the group also demanded the immediate removal of David Sanson from the Sugar Board.A joint public consultation by the Senate and House of Representatives on the significant decline in millgate sugar prices will be held at Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay City, Negros Occidental, from 9 a.m. t...

Jan202026 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Guv supporting SRA’s campaign vs. influx of artificial sweeteners

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SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona, Vice Governor Jose Benito Alonso, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, UNIFED president Manuel Lamata and Sugar Board Member David Sanson (l-r) meet at the Governor’s Office Tuesday afternoon.*Sugar industry leaders met with Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and Vice Governor Jose Benito Alonso on Tuesday, Jan. 20, to seek the provincial government’s support for the campaign to curb the entry of artificial sweeteners.The industry is specifically targeting the rise of sucralose, which has significantly dampened domestic sugar consumption among large-scale manufacturers, Sugar Regulatory Administrator (SRA) Pablo Luis Azcona said.Azcona, who was accompanied by Sugar Board Member David Sanson and United Sugar Producers Federation (UNIFED...

Jan202026 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Congressional consultation on sugar industry all set

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The activity aims to gather key stakeholders to discuss the pressing challenges faced by the sugar industry.*Roonie Baldonado file photoThe joint public consultation by the Senate and House Representatives “on the significant decline in millgate sugar prices” in Negros Occidental will be held at the Padre Pio Hall of Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23. The consultation will be led by Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform Chairperson Sen. Kiko Pangilinan and House Committee on Agriculture and Food Chairperson Rep. Mark Enverga. It will be hosted by Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd&nbs...