Business

Sep92026 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Negros Occidental Capitol suspends work following shooting threat

The provincial government employees at the Capitol going home after work was suspended Wednesday afternoon.* Barbara Mijares photoGov. Eugenio Jose Lacson ordered the immediate suspension of work across all offices inside and surrounding the Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol on Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 9, following an alleged direct shooting threat targeted at government personnel.The emergency shutdown was prompted by a security breach involving a private individual who allegedly threatened to shoot provincial government workers, the governor’s memorandum said.In issuing the order, Lacson emphasized that the immediate danger posed to staff, officials, and visitors demanded paramount consideration, noting that the incident had already severely disrupted t...

Sep92026 by Judy F. PartlowNo Comments

Negros Oriental enforces hog price cap amid ASF cases

Business

Negros Oriental’s provincial government has ordered strict enforcement of the price ceiling on live hogs, piglets, and pork to prevent confusion and ensure fair prices for hog raisers, suppliers, and the general public.Vernon Lumbania, acting chief of the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO), said on Tuesday that the directive followed a meeting with Governor Manuel Sagarbarria and other provincial officials, amid reports of varying price ceilings set by local government units (LGUs).“We were ordered to print tarpaulins bearing the price ceilings, as suggested in an executive order issued by the governor to avoid the ‘chaos’ caused by varying price caps,” Lumbania said.On Aug. 1, the governor issued an order to regulate the prices of hogs (live weight), piglets, and pork (b...

Sep82026 by Digicast NegrosNo Comments

Sugar Group: SRA forecast an admission of failure of its own RSSI solutions

Business, Top Stories

RSSI hit sugarcane*SRA file photoA nationwide multi-sectoral group of sugarcane producers and workers slammed the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) on Tuesday, Sept. 8, calling its dismal production forecast a “complete admission of failure” of its own pest control programs.The group, in a press statement, rejected the SRA’s claim that the projected drop in raw sugar output for Crop Year 2026–2027 is due mainly to the Red-Striped Soft Scale Insect (RSSI) infestation, pointing instead to deeper economic and policy missteps.Their statement follows a BusinessMirror report on September 4, 2026, where SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona projected raw sugar output for Crop Year 2026–2027 to sink to a 20-year low of 1.662 million metric tons (MMT).While Azcona blamed the drop ...

Sep82026 by Joann VillanuevaNo Comments

DOE eyes partial solution to Visayas grid alerts this month

Business, Top Stories

Energy Secretary Sharon Garin holds an online media briefing Monday*Grid alerts in the Visayas and Mindanao are expected to be partly addressed this month as several power plants are scheduled to resume operations, Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Sharon Garin said on Monday, Sept. 7.Data released by the DOE during an online briefing showed that Unit 1 of the Cebu Energy Development Corporation resumed operations on Sept. 5, while Unit 1 of the Therma Visayas Inc. is set to return to operations on Sept. 15 and Unit 3 of Panay Energy Development Corporation by Oct. 3.For the Mindanao grid, Unit 2 of Therma South Inc. will be back in operation by Sept. 8 and Unit 1 by Sept. 19, and Unit 2 of GNPower Kauswagan by Sept. 20.The resumption of these power-generating units is ...

Sep72026 by Digicast NegrosNo Comments

Grab, Iloilo taxi operators expand access to EV ride-hailing

Business

Grab is partnering with Iloilo transport operators Quarry Taxi and MOMOFED Taxi to expand access to electric vehicle (EV) ride-hailing services in Western Visayas through GrabTaxi Electric, giving local EV taxi drivers more opportunities to serve passengers through the Grab platform.For drivers, operating costs directly shape their earnings and their ability to sustain operations over time. Drivers report that EVs can reduce operating costs per kilometer by up to 75% compared with comparable internal combustion engine (ICE) taxis, based on a daily mileage of 250 to 300 kilometers and subject to local charging, energy, and maintenance costs."Electric mobility will succeed when it delivers real and lasting value to the communities that keep our cities moving. In Iloilo, Grab is w...

Sep72026 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Alminaza pushes green energy reform to solve Visayas power crisis

Business, Top Stories

San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza on Monday, Sept. 7, called the recurring brownouts across the Visayas a "systemic warning," urging power sector stakeholders to reform the energy system rather than return to fossil-fuel dependence.Alminaza, in a Facebook post, said the ongoing power interruptions severely affect hospitals, schools, businesses, and family life.He opposed suggestions that Negros should construct more coal-fired or liquefied natural gas power plants to solve the power crunch, stating that decisions made today risk locking communities into decades of volatile fuel prices, pollution, and carbon emissions.Alminaza said the underlying issues behind the energy crisis, include inadequate reserve margins, prolonged plant outages, transmission bo...

Sep62026 by Anna Leah GonzalesNo Comments

Huge fuel price increases Tuesday

Business, Top Stories

PNA photoDomestic fuel prices are projected to increase on Tuesday, Sept. 8, following the resumption of hostilities between the US and Iran over mining in the Strait of Hormuz.Citing price developments in the international market, Jetti Petroleum president Leo Bellas said Friday that diesel prices may go up by PHP4.50 to PHP5 per liter, and gasoline by PHP4 to PHP4.50 per liter.“Oil prices rose as the resumption of hostilities between the US and Iran over mining in the Strait of Hormuz raised concerns about more disruptions to energy flows from the Middle East,” Bellas said in a message to the media.He said tightening global diesel inventories and refinery disruptions around the world have further pushed fuel prices higher.This supply squeeze is compounded by dim...

Sep42026 by Carla P. GomezNo Comments

Guv says power outages hurting businesses in NegOcc; Javi seeking answers

Business, Top Stories

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson on Friday, Sept. 4, said that the constant power outages are hurting businesses in Negros Occidental, and if the length of the brownouts worsens, it could become a crisis.Bacolod Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said the Negros Power and Electric Corp. informed him that several power-generating plants are down for regular maintenance work and for some other reasons, and the lack of power supply is causing the brownouts.“But if I am not mistaken, the maintenance is finished, this coming month should be better,” he said.Lacson said the daily power outages are definitely bad for business.“While many of our business establishments have their own generators, that is an additional cost,” he said.Right now, it is not a crisis, but if the lengt...

Sep42026 by Mark L. GarciaNo Comments

NIR inflation rises to 5.8% in August but remains lowest in Visayas

Business, Top Stories

Inflation in the Negros Island Region edged higher to 5.8 percent in August, moving opposite the slight slowdown recorded nationwide, but remained below the national rate and substantially lower than the other Visayas regions.Data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority on Friday, Sept. 4, showed NIR’s inflation rate increased from 5.6 percent in July to 5.8 percent in August.National headline inflation, meanwhile, eased slightly to 6.1 percent from 6.2 percent in July, bringing the country’s average inflation from January to August to 5.2 percent.This means that while price increases slowed slightly for the country as a whole, prices in Negros continued to increase at a slightly faster annual pace in August than they did in July.Still, NIR’s 5.8 percent inflation w...

Sep32026 by Digicast NegrosNo Comments

Mayor leads Bacolod toward climate-sensitive, resilient urban development

Business, Top Stories

Mayor Greg Gasataya (center) during the ceremonial handover of Urban-Act outputs from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), represented by Heinrich Gudenus, Project Director of the Integrated Urban Climate Action for Low-Carbon and Resilient Cities (left), and Nicole Kranz, Head of the Climate Action and Disaster Resilience Cluster (right), at Roy’s Hotel and Convention Center.*Mayor Greg Gasataya reaffirmed Bacolod City’s commitment to evidence-based and climate-sensitive urban development as the city hosted the Urban-Act Knowledge Handover at Roy’s Hotel and Convention Center on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 1–2.The two-day event marked the formal turnover of planning toolkits, policy briefs, and climate risk assessment reports developed unde...