Business

Sep292026 by Digicast NegrosNo Comments

From paying bills to buying shares: GCash offers Negrosanons a way to start investing

For residents of Bacolod City and Negros Occidental curious about owning a small part of a Philippine company, getting started could take just a phone, a fully verified GCash account, and as little as P500.GCash said its GStocks PH service allows users to open a stock trading account, add funds, and place orders through the app, without needing a bank account or visiting a separate brokerage office.Buying a share means owning a small portion of a company.Through GStocks PH, users can choose from more than 280 companies listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).The service connects users to AB Capital Securities Inc., the broker that handles their trading account.To register, users can select GStocks PH on the GCash homepage or Invest tab, choose AB Capital Secur...

Sep272026 by Mark L. GarciaNo Comments

Negros Oriental, Siquijor workers to get P42 daily wage hike starting Oct. 14

Business, Community, Negros Oriental, Top Stories

Minimum wage earners in Negros Oriental and Siquijor will receive a P42 daily wage increase starting Oct. 14, 2026, under a wage adjustment approved for private sector workers covered by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) VII.Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino announced the increase on Saturday, Sept. 26, saying it is equivalent to an additional P1,092 a month.The wage adjustment also covers Cebu and Bohol, with the Department of Labor and Employment estimating that 337,476 workers across the four provinces will benefit.Although Negros Oriental and Siquijor are part of the Negros Island Region (NIR), they remain covered by RTWPB VII for minimum wage-setting purposes, while Negros Occidental remains under RTWPB VI in Western Visayas.The wage adjustme...

Sep252026 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Measures to address sugar crisis mapped out: CONFED

Business, Top Stories

CONFED Executive Director Alan Gensoli, CONFED VP Alfonso Gamboa, CONFED President Aurelio Gerardo Valderrama, Jr., Agriculture Sec. Francisco Tiu-Laurel Jr., Presidential Assistant for Visayas, Sec. Philip Lo, SRA Administrator Pablo Azcona, CONFED Consultant Rafael Coscolluela, NACUSIP President Roland de la Cruz, FTI President Joseph Lo (l-r) after their meeting.*Congress leaders led by Deputy Speaker Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez convened sugar industry representatives to discuss a draft Presidential Executive Order Constituting the Sugar Industry Pest and Disaster Management Task Force, “to provide leadership and direction in the fight against RSSI and other natural calamities besetting the sugar industry”. Aurelio “Bodie” Valderrama Jr., President of the Confedera...

Sep242026 by Mary Judaline PartlowNo Comments

Power producer upgrades NegOr plant’s geothermal capacity to 126 MW

Business, Negros Oriental, Top Stories

First Gen Corporation is undertaking a modernization project that will increase the installed capacity of its Palinpinon-1 geothermal power plant in Valencia, Negros Oriental, from 112.5 megawatts (MW) to 126 MW.The project, being implemented by First Gen’s geothermal arm, Energy Development Corporation (EDC), involves replacing the plant’s three 37.5-MW turbine-generator units with three modern 42-MW units, EDC said in a statement Wednesday.The upgrade is expected to add 13.5 MW to First Gen’s renewable energy portfolio while allowing the facility to generate more electricity using the same volume of geothermal steam, without additional steam extraction.Noel Tan, head of the Southern Negros Geothermal Project (SNGP), said that the modernization demonstrates EDC’s efforts to im...

Sep232026 by Mark L. GarciaNo Comments

Sugar groups urge Coca-Cola to prioritize local sugar amid finished product imports

Business, Top Stories

Sugar producers and workers on Wednesday, Sept. 23, called on Coca-Cola's Philippine bottler to prioritize locally produced sugar following reports that it has been importing finished Coca-Cola products from Indonesia.In a joint statement on Sept. 23, the Sugar Council, National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines, and Democratic Association of Labor Organizations said the importation could reduce demand for Philippine sugar and affect farmers, millers and sugar workers.The Sugar Council is composed of the Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations, National Federation of Sugarcane Planters and Panay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers.The groups issued the appeal after The Philippine Star reported on Sept. 17 that Coca-Cola Europacific Aboitiz Philippine...

Sep232026 by Mary Judaline PartlowNo Comments

PBBM peace program aids 131 PAMANA groups in NIR

Business, Community, Negros Oriental, Top Stories

A total of 131 livelihood associations in the Negros Island Region (NIR) have received or are scheduled to receive PHP300,000 each in seed capital under the government’s PAyapa at MAsaganang PamayaNAn (PAMANA) program, an official said Tuesday, Sept. 22.Dan Donald S. Candare, PAMANA Project Development Officer 3 of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-NIR, said the program has allocated PHP39.3 million for the 131 PAMANA Livelihood Project Associations (PLPAs) in the region.“The associations, with a combined membership of 1,969 individuals, are located in vulnerable and conflict-affected communities,” Candare said on Tuesday.The livelihood funding is provided by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) as part of Pres...

Sep222026 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Negros creativity lauded at opening of 40th NTF, Jose Mari Chan brings early holiday cheer

Business, Top Stories

Officials led by Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Negros Oriental Gov. Manuel "Chaco" Sagarbarria ring the bell to signal the opening of the trade fair.*Ronnie Baldonado photoForty years after Negrense women banded together during a devastating sugar crisis to sell homemade goods in Manila, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said the landmark 40th Negros Trade Fair at the SMX Convention Center in SM Aura that opened on Tuesday, Sept. 22, has proven that the province is "more than just sugar".Lacson and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. lauded the Negros producers and the Association of Negros Producers for the quality of their goods and their creativity that has spanned 40 years.N...

Sep222026 by Digicast NegrosNo Comments

GCash parent gets PSE approval for IPO, moves closer to public share offering

Business

Prospective Bacoleño and Negrense investors are a step closer to an opportunity to own shares in GCash parent company Mynt Inc. after it secured Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) approval for its proposed initial public offering (IPO).On Sept. 16, Mynt announced that it received the formal Notice of Approval from the PSE board of directors for the offering and the listing of its common shares on the exchange’s Main Board.The approval follows Mynt’s filing of its registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).The transaction is expected in October, subject to final regulatory clearances and market conditions.The proposed offering is expected to consist of up to 8,027,409,600 common shares, with an overallotment option covering up to 1,204,111,400 addi...

Sep212026 by Mary Judaline PartlowNo Comments

DENR chief pushes accountable climate action, cites Philippines’ 75% emissions target

Business

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Juan Miguel T. Cuna* Net Zero Carbon Alliance photoEnvironment and Natural Resources Secretary Juan Miguel T. Cuna called for stronger coordination and accountable implementation of climate initiatives, stressing that efforts toward a low-carbon future must move beyond dialogue and translate into concrete action across the economy.Speaking before government officials, business and finance leaders, civil society representatives and development partners on Tuesday, Sept. 15, Cuna said the Philippines must bridge the gap between climate ambition and actual implementation to deliver on its emissions-reduction commitments.“The Philippines has committed to a net emissions reduction and avoidance target of 75 percent for the period 202...

Sep212026 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Protestors slam Marcos Jr. for being no different than father, cite continuing sugar crisis, poverty

Business, Top Stories

Protestors marking the 54th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law in Bacolod City on Monday, Ronnie Baldonado photoAbout 100 Negrenses marked the 54th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law by accusing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of being no different than his father, at a rally in front of the Bacolod City Government Center replica in Bacolod City on Monday, Sept. 21.Noli Rosales, secretary-general of Bayan Negros, said the vast majority of people in Negros continue to live in poverty amid a sugar industry crisis reminiscent of the Martial Law era under former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.Rosales slammed government’s sugar importation, and government’s failure to address the industry’s decline.He also said land grabbi...