Business

Trade and Industry Sec. Alfredo Pascual*Business leaders are urging the Department of Trade and Industry to create a convergence program with other government agencies to develop the export market in the Visayas.Officials from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Visayas met with Trade and Industry Sec. Alfredo Pascual in Iloilo City on Saturday, June 10, and discussed the concerns of the business sector, Frank Carbon, PCCI Vice President for the Visayas, said Tuesday.Carbon, who is also the chief executive officer of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that export products from the Visayas are having a hard time competing in foreign markets because of higher wages and cost of utilities like electricity, among others.He said that wages in the...

A large increase in fuel prices is expected on Tuesday, June 12, Unioil Petroleum Philippines announced Saturday.Diesel prices will increase by P1.30 to P1.50 per liter, and gasoline by P1.10 to P1.30 per liter.Fuel firms implemented a per liter decrease of P.60 for gasoline and kerosene, and P0.30 per liter for diesel on June 6.There has been a year-to-date net decrease for kerosene of P7.735 per liter and diesel by P5.35, while, the price of gasoline had a net increase of P5.50 per liter, the Department of Energy reported last week.*

Border checkpoint in Barangay Sangke, Hinobaan.*Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Monday, May 29, that Negros Occidental still has no Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) confirmed African swine fever (ASF) cases despite the continued pigs deaths in the province from various ailments.Negros Occidental pig deaths on Monday increased to 7,202 in 118 barangays in 14 local government units, the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) reported.The pig deaths have caused P88,265,750 in losses to Negros Occidental’s hog industry, the PVO said.They also represent 6.64 percent of the province’s 108, 528 hog population, and 1,498 raisers are affected, it addedMayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said the two pigs in Barangay Taculing, Bacolod, that tested positive for ASF on Friday, May 26, r...

A leader of the business sector in Negros Occidental is seeking the help of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry to push projects on coconut development, aquaculture ventures, and the revival of the Philippine Sugar Corporation.Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chief Executive Officer Frank Carbon told DIGICAST NEGROS that he brought these concerns to the sectoral committees of PCCI as he hopes to get more developments to the province.Carbon, PCCI Vice President for Visayas, is in Manila for the PCCI executive committee meeting.He joined the sub-committee meetings on agriculture, and power and energy, Carbon said.They discussed how PCCI could assist the provinces in the Visayas in getting ample shares from the Philippine Coconut Authority's P75 billi...

No price change is expected for diesel on Tuesday May 30, Unioil Petroleum Philippines said on Saturday.But gasoline prices may increase by P1 to P1.20 per liter, it saidOn May 23 gasoline prices went up by P0.80 per liter and diesel by P0.60 per liter.Diesel and kerosene have seen year-to-date net decreases of P5.05 per liter and P6.40 per liter, respectively, the Department of Energy said.Gasoline has had a net increase of P5 per liter this year, the DOE added.*

ASF checkpoints are up all over Negros Occidental*The pig deaths in Negros Occidental hit 6,379 with 411 new cases reported on Friday, May 26.This brings the total Negros Occidental hog industry losses to P75,503,775, the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) reported.The fatalities represent 5.88 percent of Negros Occidental’s 108,528 hog population.Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said as of Friday the main cause of the pig deaths in the province was hog cholera, which he called “threatening”.There is no official report yet that Negros Occidental has been hit by African Swine Fever, he said.“As of now it’s still hog cholera, the province will never declare otherwise until such time that we are given confirmation from the laboratory,” Lacson said.“The line of defense now ...

The pig death toll in Negros Occidental from various diseases, including hog cholera, hit 5,968, with 459 new fatalities in seven barangays on Thursday, May 25.The total damage to the hog industry reached P71,368,650 affecting 1,220 hog raisers, a Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) report showed.The additional barangays affected Thursday were 1 and 1 A in Manapla, Batuan in Valladolid, Pacol in Bago City, Utod in Pulupandan, MH del Pilar in Pontevedra and San Pedro in Binalbagan.A proposal is being prepared to provide cash assistance to the affected hograisers and caretakers, Ma. Gerla Sario, OIC Provincial Social Welfare Officer, said.The proposal is being discussed with Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz, the PVO and the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, she sa...

SRA Acting Administrator Pablo Azcona*The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) is now in the process of collating figures from sugar mills to determine the actual volume of sugar that needs to be procured from outside by the end of this month, SRA Acting Administrator Pablo Azcona said Tuesday, May 23.The directive from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was to ensure that the final import volume must be based on latest supply report with a provision that it should not be more than 150,000 metric tons, Azcona said in a press statement.This will include already the additional buffer volume of 100,000 metric tons especially if they consider delaying the opening of mills to September 2023 instead of August to increase productivity, he added.“We would like to assure our sugar stak...

Social Security System (SSS) President and Chief Executive Officer Rolando Ledesma Macasaet reminded members and pensioners to secure their login credentials for their My.SSS account and other personal information to protect their online account from being used in fraudulent transactions.Macasaet said that several SSS members and pensioners are digitally challenged or not well-versed in suing computers and smartphones and find it challenging to access their M.SSS account. As a result, they tend to seek assistance from other people, including fixers, who are more tech-savvy. Unfortunately, scammers and unscrupulous persons take advantage of them to gain access to their My.SSS account and use it for their own personal gains.“We discourage them from sharing their usernames, passwords,...