Business

Provincial Legal Officer Alberto Nellas Jr., Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz, with sugar leaders Rafael Coscolluela and Gina Martin.*Richard Malihan photoNegros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson has agreed to issue an executive order creating a province-wide task force to prevent the spread of highly destructive red-striped soft scale insects (RSSI), which have now spread from sugarcane to other crops.This development was disclosed by former Negros Occidental governor Rafael Coscolluela, who currently serves as adviser to the president of the Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations Inc.Coscolluela, along with Gina Martin, director general of the Philippine Sugar Research Institute Foundation Inc. (PHILSURIN), and other industry stak...

Gerrard Joseph Sarrosa, Sugar Regulatory Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona and United Sugar Producers Federation president Manuel Lamata (l-r) meet with Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson on Tuesday.*CPG photoA state of calamity over Negros Occidental will remain in effect amid reports that 32.18 percent of its sugarcane fields have already been hit by the highly destructive Red Striped Soft-Scale Insects (RSSI), Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said Tuesday, June 23.Sugar Regulatory Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona and United Sugar Producers Federation president Manuel Lamata briefed the governor and members of the Negros Occidental Sangguniang Panlalawigan on the extent of the RSSI damage at the SP session hall at the Capitol in Bacolod City on Tuesday.A state of calamity is necessary to hast...

 A pump attendant refills the fuel tank of a motorcycle at a gas station on Monday.*PNA/Yancy Lim photoThe Department of Energy (DOE) announced a big-time price rollback in fuel prices beginning Tuesday, Jube 23.Data released by the DOE on Monday showed that for this week, gasoline prices are set to decline between PHP3.90 to PHP5.90 per liter, while diesel will also decline by PHP9.04 to PHP11.04 per liter.Kerosene prices, meanwhile, will also be slashed by PHP9.82 to PHP11.82 per liter.In an advisory, Seaoil said it will cut diesel prices by PHP9.04 per liter, gasoline by PHP3.90 per liter, and kerosene by PHP9.82 per liter.Shell said it will also reduce gasoline prices by PHP3.90 per liter, kerosene by PHP11 per liter, and diesel by PHP9.04 per liter."The adjust...

DA NIR file photoThe Sangguniang Panlungsod of Bacolod has approved a resolution calling for the strict monitoring and enforcement of Executive Order No. 118, which imposes a ₱50 per kilogram price ceiling on imported rice, Councilor  Caesar Distrito said Monday, June 22.The resolution, authored by  Distrito and co-authored by Councilor Celia Flor requests the Bacolod City Price Monitoring Council, the three market supervisors under the Office of the City Administrator, the Department of Agriculture (DA), and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through the Office of Mayor Greg Gasataya, to intensify inspections and take appropriate action against violators.“Rice is a basic necessity for every Filipino family. The ₱50 rice price ceiling was established to make rice ...

A massive insect infestation threatening thousands of hectares of sugar fields in the Visayas has prompted an emergency meeting on Tuesday, June 23,  between sugar producers and Negros Occidental provincial officials.The United Sugar Producers Federation (UNIFED) will sit down with Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, and the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to tackle the spread of the Red Striped Soft Scale Insect (RSSI), its president Manuel Lamata said Sunday.Lamata said  that the figures are alarming and doubling on a weekly basis, leaving planters, particularly small farmers, deeply worried about what this massive infestation will do to their crops.The RSSI infestation has entered an accelerated phase across the Visayas, with affected areas...

The SRA is battling the RSSI infestation with drone spraying of insecticide.*SRA photoA Negros Occidental lawmaker is pushing for a state of calamity assessment and the immediate formation of a provincial task force to combat a rapidly spreading infestation of the Red-Striped Soft Scale Insect (RSSI), which has more than doubled its reach to over 4,800 hectares in the Visayas in less than a week.“We would like the governor to take the lead because this is not just an agricultural problem after a while, it’s going to become an economic and a social order problem,” Rep. Emilio Bernardino L. Yulo (Neg. Occ., 5th District) said on Friday, June 19.“RSSI is no longer an isolated or temporary pest infestation. It has become a perennial problem that continues to threaten the stability ...

Blue crabs in EB Magalona* Ronnie Baldonado photoThe Sangguniang Panlungsod of Bacolod City has approved a resolution appealing to national government agencies to take immediate action to address the adverse effects of the United States import ban on the Philippine blue swimming crabs and to protect the livelihood of thousands of workers and families dependent on the industry.The resolution was principally authored by Councilor  Caesar Distrito and co-authored by Councilor Celia Flor.It expresses support for the earlier initiative of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Negros Occidental through a resolution  authored by Board Member Bambi Depasucat-Sason, which called on the national government to intervene and help restore Philippine access to the U.S. market, Distrito s...

A group of farm workers from Sagay City receive their underpaid wages during the release of claims supervised by the Department of Labor and Employment - Negros Occidental.*The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has successfully assisted 32 farm workers from Sagay City, Negros Occidental, in claiming PHP798,967 in underpaid wages they supposedly earned from 2022 to 2025.In a report on Friday, DOLE-Negros Occidental said the release of the workers’ monetary claims was the result of an amicable settlement reached between the two parties during the conference held on May 19 through the agency’s conciliation-mediation mechanism.“The successful case resolution highlights the value of the DOLE’s single-entry approach (SEnA), a program designed to help workers and employers set...