Business

Ronnie Baldonado file photoThe National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (NACUSIP) is asking President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to take immediate executive intervention to save the sugar industry from what it described as a "death sentence" caused by collapsing prices and market manipulation.NACUSIP National President Roland C. de la Cruz, in his letter to the president on Saturday, Feb. 28, cited the steep decline in sugar prices seen from late 2025 through early 2026, which has left farmers and mill workers unable to afford basic necessities.The labor federation is calling for the urgent establishment of a government sugar buying program to ensure fair farmgate prices, providing a vital safety net for producers and shielding them from unscrupulous tr...

The ongoing regional meet.*NIRAAM photoThe billeting schools of the 2026 Negros Island Regional Athletic Association Meet (NIRAAM) hosted by Bacolod City remain safe for occupancy despite a magnitude 4.8 earthquake on Monday night.The buildings in 16 schools underwent rapid damage assessment and needs analysis conducted by the City Engineer's Office (CEO).The list on Tuesday included Andres Bonifacio Elementary School I and II, Handumanan Elementary School I and II, Education and Training Center School I, II and III, Antonio L. Jayme Elementary School, Jose R. Torres Elementary School, Mariano G. Medalla Integrated School, Rizal Elementary School, and Rodolfo A. Medel Sr. Elementary School.Others are Bacolod City National High School, Bacolod SPED Center, Barangay Singcang-...

The technical team meets with Mayor Leo Rafael M. Cueva *Molocaboc Island in Sagay City has been identified as the pilot site for a proposed P8.5-million desalination project of the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI), in coordination with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) under the Department of Agriculture.The project, expected to be implemented within two years, will involve the construction of a desalination facility with a production area of around 300 to 500 square meters, marking the first pilot initiative of its kind in the country, a press release from Sagay City said Tuesday, March 3.A technical team composed of Riza Banicod, senior science research specialist, Gezelle Todifa and Cherie May Busalla, science research special...

Fuel prices will rise by up to PHP1.90 per liter on Tuesday, March 3, marking the eighth straight weekly increase, largely due to Middle East tensions.In an advisory Monday, Seaoil said gasoline prices will increase by PHP1.90/liter, diesel by PHP1.20/liter, and kerosene by PHP1.50/liter effective 6 a.m. Tuesday.Citing global market trends, Michael Ricafort, chief economist of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, said crude oil prices at the New York Mercantile Exchange rose about 6.1 percent to USD71.08 per barrel in Monday trading, below the USD75.33 intraday high.The spike followed US and Israeli attacks on Iran that killed its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes.Ricafort said the developments weakened the US dollar, which opened at 57.85 from...

Efforts are underway to secure updated climate and disaster hazard maps for all local government units in the Third District of Negros Occidental to strengthen disaster preparedness and risk-informed planning.Rep. Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said Project Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (NOAH), the Philippines’ primary science-based hazard assessment program under the University of the Philippines Resilience Institute, recently visited the district to discuss hazard mapping needs.Project NOAH generates high-resolution flood, landslide, and storm surge hazard maps and supports climate risk assessment, which helps local governments plan infrastructure, drainage, and flood control.Benitez said earlier mapping efforts did not include some area...

The House Committee on Agriculture and Food hearing on the sugar industry on Wednesday.* Mark Garcia photoNegros Occidental lawmakers assured that small sugarcane farmers will be included in future congressional hearings on the sugar industry following a House Committee on Agriculture and Food hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 25, in Quezon City.Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said small farmers, including association presidents and members of small planter groups, must be directly involved in the discussions.His office is prepared to subsidize the travel of small farmer representatives to ensure their participation in the hearings, Benitez said.Benitez added that the next hearing should include traders, importers, and industry partners to provide a complete p...

Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) and Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga, House Committee on Agriculture and Food chairman, (l-r) during the hearing on Wednesday.* Mark Garcia photoThe Sugar Regulatory Administration committed to issue a sugar order to regulate the entry of sugar substitutes and artificial sweeteners during a House Committee on Agriculture and Food hearing in Quezon City on Wednesday, Feb. 25.Rep. Emilio “Dino” Yulo (Neg. Occ., 5th District) said the number and variety of artificial sweeteners entering the market has expanded beyond high-fructose corn syrup and premixes.Yulo said sweeteners such as sucralose, aspartame, and saccharin, among others, should be regulated because local farmers are affected whenever these products enter the country....

Former Negros Occidental governor Rafael Coscolluela*Stakeholders are running out of time to push amendments to the Sugar Industry Development Act, former Negros Occidental governor Rafael “Lito” Coscolluela said during a congressional hearing at the House of Representatives in Quezon City on Wednesday, February 25.Coscolluela, who represented the Confederation of Sugar Producers’ Associations, said revisions are needed to strengthen regulation and ensure long-term support for the sugar industry.He said that this proposal must be approved in the first half of the year as Congress might have other focus in the last six months of 2026.The proposed amendments seek to expand the powers of the Sugar Regulatory Administration to monitor and regulate the entry of sugar substitute...

Senator Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri*Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri is urging Negros Occidental congressmen to file a counterpart bill in the Lower House seeking to grant the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) powers to regulate the entry of sugar substitutes and artificial sweeteners into the country.Zubiri, in an interview on Monday, said he has already filed a bill seeking to grant the SRA regulatory powers over the importation of sugar substitutes and artificial sweeteners that are causing the drop in the country’s sugar millgate prices.These substitutes are currently not under the mandate of the SRA to regulate, he said.However, his proposed bill needs a counterpart measure in the Lower House, Zubiri said.Zubiri also said about 40 percent of sugar users have ...