Business

Noli Rosales (left) , KMU  Negros secretary general, at the Hacienda Lolita workers' press conference last month.*Ronnie Baldonado photoThe Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) Negros has  rejected claims by Confederation of Sugar Producers Association (CONFED) President Aurelio Valderrama that a labor case filed against him was weaponized to discredit his reputation.During the hearing of the House Committee on Agriculture regarding the amendment of the Sugar Industry Development Act (SIDA), the case filed by 28 workers at Hacienda Lolita in Barangay Luna, Cadiz City—which is managed by Valderrama—was brought up, Noli Rosales, KMU  Negros secretary general, said in a statement released  Friday, August 7. Valderrama stated that instead of going through the Department of L...

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson leads the turnover of livestock and poultry on Thursday*Richard Malihan photoNegros Occidental is studying the imposition of a minimum buying price for live hogs and pork, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Thursday, August 6.He noted that Guihulngan City in Negros Oriental imposed a minimum buying price for live hogs and pork products to protect raisers amid growing concerns over the spread of African swine fever (ASF).“I understand that traders are avoiding Guihulngan and buying from neighboring towns and cities instead, which somehow weakens the executive order,” Lacson said.But  he heard plans are underway to impose the minimum buying price provincewide in Negros Oriental, the governor said.“We are studying that option here in Negros Occ...

Former Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) head Rafael “Lito” Coscolluela*Former Negros Occidental governor and Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) head Rafael “Lito” Coscolluela questioned the Department of Agriculture’s positive assessment of sugar industry reforms, saying official production data show significant declines and billions of pesos in losses.Coscolluela raised the issue in an interview on the sidelines of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food hearing on sugar industry reforms in Quezon City on Tuesday, Aug. 4.He was reacting to a July 24 DA press release titled “Sugar reforms boost supply, protect farmers, stabilize market nationwide.”The DA credited reforms implemented by the SRA with stabilizing sugar supply, tempering price fluctuations, supporti...

Ronnie Baldonado file photoThe Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations (CONFED) on Wednesday, August 5,  urged sugarcane industry stakeholders— especially farmers, laborers, and mill workers— to actively demand for real and lasting solutions to the industry’s worsening problems, aside from controlling the Red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) infestation.In issuing the call, CONFED National President Aurelio Gerardo J. Valderrama Jr. also revealed that a Joint Motion to Dismiss the complaint had been signed by all concerned parties involved in his highly-publicized labor case, after the completion of sober due process to resolve the workers’ complaint.“The resolution of that case was a brief distraction,” Valderrama said in a press release.The CONFED President str...

Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino with Sugar Industry Foundation Inc. President and Chief Operating Officer Edith Villanueva (left photo) and United Sugar Producers Federation of the Philippines President Manuel Lamata after the signing of the memorandum of agreement between the Department of Labor and Employment and their respective institutions at L’ Fisher Hotel in Bacolod City on Tuesday.*DOLE photo The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) granted PHP22.8 million in labor, education and social protection assistance for beneficiaries in Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City, on Tuesday, August 4.Secretary Francis Tolentino led the ceremonial turnover of PHP21.83-million aid under the agency’s Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program for the TUPAD or ...

House Committee on Agriculture and Food chairperson Rep. Wilfrido Mark M. Enverga and Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez during the House committee hearing on Tuesday.*QUEZON CITY — Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) has been designated to head the Technical Working Group (TWG) that will consolidate and harmonize six proposed measures seeking to strengthen the country's sugar industry following  the House Committee on Agriculture and Food hearing at the Romualdez Hall here at the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Aug. 4.House Committee on Agriculture and Food Chair Rep. Wilfrido Mark M. Enverga (Quezon Province , 1st District) announced Benitez's designation during the hearing.,Enverga said the TWG will consolidate the six bills proposing amendments to the Su...

The Sangguniang Panlungsod of Bacolod City has unanimously approved on third and final reading an orddinace elevating the Bacolod Public Employment Service Office (PESO) into a full-fledged department under the Office of the City Mayor, Councilor Ceasar Distrito said Tuesday, Aug. 4.The measure, authored by Distrito, amends City Ordinance No. 957, Series of 2021, with the objective of strengthening the City’s employment generation programs, improving labor market services, and making government employment assistance more accessible to every Bacolodnon.Distrito said the ordinance is a major step toward modernizing the Bacolod’s employment services in line with Republic Act No. 8759, as amended by Republic Act No. 10691, which mandates the strengthening of Public Employment Service O...