Business

Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, second from left, with GCash AVP Head of Public Sector and Partnerships Cathlyn Pavia and LGU Leader for Visayas and Mindanao JR Marfori, and Bacolod City Treasurer Arlene Memoria (l-r) at the signing of the agreement.*Bacolod City government’s partnership with G-Xchange Inc., a leading corporation in the Philippines specializing in remittance services and mobile payment solutions, was launched at the Bacolod City Government Center Wednesday afternoon, May 17.This collaboration signifies Bacolod City government's commitment to embracing digitalization and leveraging technology to enhance government services, a press release said.The signing of the agreement was led by Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez with GCash AVP Head of Public Se...

Sugar leaders Enrique Rojas, Aurelio Valderrama Jr. and Manuel Lamata (l-r)*Government’s additional importation of sugar “to stabilize the price and boost the country’s stock” drew mixed reactions from industry leaders on Tuesday, May 16.“We agreed to additional importation of sugar to stabilize the prices. Maximum amount will be 150,000 MT but probably less,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced on Monday after meeting with Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) officials.Manuel Lamata, United Sugar Producers Federation of the Philippines president, said he also believes the country still lacks 150,000 MT of sugar.“Since the president wants milling to start September 1, we need that to cover August and September. The president sees the September start to milling will in...

Central Negros Electric Cooperative’s average residential rate for May is P12.9637/kwh, an increase by P0.2266/kWh from last month’s rate of P12.7371/kWh, its acting general manager Arnel Lapore announced Tuesday, May 16.He attributed this to an increase in the total generation charges by 4.15 percent.The Wholesale Electricity Spot Market price increased from P7.5527/kWh to P8.9556/kWh or an upward adjustment of P1.4036/kWh, Lapore said.He also cited the implementation of the additional Universal Charges - Missionary Electrification rate of P0.0433/kWh.*

A large drop in fuel prices is expected on Tuesday, May 9.Oil firms are expected to cut diesel prices by P2.50 to P2.70 per liter, and gasoline by P1.80 to P2 per liter, according to the forecast of Unioil Petroleum Philippines on Saturday.It will be the third straight week for drops in fuel prices.On May 2 diesel prices dropped by P1.30, gasoline by P1.50, and kerosene by P1.40.*

Ceneco acting general manager Arnel Lapore.*The draft of the Joint Venture Agreement provisions between Central Negros Electric Cooperative and MORE Electric and Power Corporation will hopefully be out by next week, Ceneco acting general manager Arnel Lapore said Thursday, May 4.The daft will then be open for public discussion and deliberation, he said.The due diligence process for the JVA is doing well, he saidCENECO officials who visited More Power in Iloilo on Wednesday were shown its developments and capital expenditures management methods, Lapore said.They also met with Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas who was all praises for MORE’s operations in Iloilo, he added.*

Increasing food production to bring down inflation, not wage increases is what is needed now, a Negros business leader said Tuesday, May 2.Frank Carbon, Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive officer, saidincreasing wages now will worsen inflation as it will lead to businesses raising the prices of their goods.The wage increase will benefit workers in the formal sector, but those in the informal sector who form almost half of the labor force will not benefit from it and will suffer more from the increase in the prices of goods.Increasing wages will also send a negative signal to both domestic and foreign investors, Carbon added.Existing businesses will also not expand because higher wages will be beyond their reach, he added.The Philippines h...

The solidarity forum of the National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines, General Alliance of Workers Association, Congress of Independent Organizations and the Philippine Agricultural Commercial Industrial Workers Union leaders at the Negros Press Club to mark Labor Day on May 1.*Twenty leaders of labor groups under the General Alliance of Workers Association (GAWA) signed a resolution in support of a Central Negros Electric Cooperative and MORE Power Corporation joint venture agreement (JVA) at a Labor Day forum at the Negros Press Club in Bacolod City on Monday morning, May 1.Militant labor groups, under the United Labor Alliance – Negros, on the other hand, slammed the JVA at their rally in front of the Bacolod City Government Center replica at the Bacol...