Business

The first of a series of free webinars with the title “Food Safety Talks: Safe Food Saves Lives” will be held via Zoom 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 26, Doreen Alicia “Reena” Gamboa, Association of Negros Producers - Foundation for Enterprise Development Inc. (AFEDI) president, said.“In these times when safety is a top priority, we must also look into how we can keep our food safe – not only for food at home but, more importantly, for those of us who are involved in the food industry,” she said.There is a need to learn more about how to maintain the highest standards of food safety by listening to the experts, she said, that is why AFEDI in cooperation with the province of Negros Occidental is presenting a series of talks and videos to tackle the subject.The first guest speaker a...

Ceneco photoConsumer group Power Watch Negros is continuing its war against the alleged over contracting by the Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) in its proposed extension of its power sales contract with the Kepco Salcon Power Corp. (KSPC), its lead convenor Wennie Sancho said Sunday, May 23.“We challenge the Ceneco Board to sign an undertaking stating that there will no over contracting in the proposed short term 40MW PSA with KSPC and that there will no huge trading losses as a result of ‘sell-back’ to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market,” he said.Power Watch vows to oppose and expose the evils of over contracting, he said.Meanwhile, he said, they have passed resolution condemning the rejection of the memorandum of understanding between Power Watch and CENEC...

PVO photoIn line with its African swine fever (ASF) monitoring and surveillance intensification effort, the Negros Occidental Provincial Veterinary Office in a joint project with Univet Nutrition and Animal Health Care Company (UNAHCO) issued PVC identification cards to 15,000 PVO-registered swine raisers of the province.Aside from the profiling of all existing swine raisers in the province, the issued identification cards are purposely to uphold the commitment of cardholders to help protect the swine industry of the province by reporting to the provincial ASF Task Force hotline or to the PVO and district field unit any disease occurrence or signs/symptoms affecting pigs in the locality and the entry, transport, sale of live pigs, pork and pork products coming from any ASF areas pr...

Capitol photoA total of 177 rice farmers of Hinigaran, Negros Occidental, received Quick Turn-Around or Early Planting Incentives worth P296,720 at rites held by Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, Tuesday, May 18.Quick Turn-Around is a program of the provincial government spearheaded by the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) intended to minimize the impact of food shortage during the height of the pandemic last year, a press release from the Capitol said.To ensure food security and agricultural productivity in the province, the farmers were encouraged to plant rice during the months of April and May last year to make sure that enough crops will be harvested in the month of August, it said.The beneficiaries of this project were the farmers who responded to the call of the p...

Bacolod PIO photoThe Department of Energy (DOE) is taking steps to achieve energy sustainability, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said in a recent visit to Bacolod City.“All options in power sourcing should be considered, including the possibility of tapping nuclear energy in the future,” said Cusi, who was in Bacolod City May 13, a city Public Information Office press release said.Cusi met with Mayor Evelio Leonardia and other city officials, as well as barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials in Bacolod.In their meeting, Cusi discussed the proposed utilization of renewable energy including nuclear energy in the Philippines and Duterte’s take on the West Philippine Sea issue.According to the Energy secretary, the DOE is committed to fully implementing Republic Act 95...

Megaworld, the largest office lessor in the country, reports that it is now dominating the office leasing market in Iloilo City, with a remarkable 70% market share based on an internal study conducted in April.As of end-April this year, the company has a total leasable office portfolio of 100,000 square meters in its nine (9) completed office towers inside the 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park, the company’s premier township development in the city.These office towers include One Techno Place, Two Techno Place, Three Techno Place, One Global Center, Two Global Center, Festive Walk 1B, Richmonde Tower, One Fintech Place, and Two Fintech Place.To date, all office towers are 100% occupied by mostly Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies, which Megaworld helped bring to Iloilo ...

Capitol photoNegros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson led the distribution of financial assistance worth P5,000 each to 21 displaced/distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from San Carlos City and Calatrava town, Tuesday, May 11.The OFW beneficiaries are part of the recipients of the Gender Responsive Intervention to COVID-19 and New Normal Project of the Provincial Government, which is funded through the Provincial Gender and Development (GAD) Budget, a press release from the Capitol said.A total of 200 displaced OFWs were identified as beneficiaries of the program for the year 2020 and 2021.OFWs from the cities of Victorias and Talisay, and the towns of E.B. Magalona, Valladolid, and Murcia have already received the same cash assistance in previous distributions, t...

Capitol photoThe Negros Occidental ICT Scholars, enrolled at STI West Negros University in Bacolod City, presented to Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson their ICT outputs, which the provincial government will make use of, as part of employing ICT to spur economic recovery in the province.The scholars are fourth year students taking up BS Information Technology, a Capitol press release said Friday, May 7.The ICT scholarship is a pioneering program of the Negros Occidental Scholarship Program Division conceptualized to help 100 deserving ICT students finish their courses at STI WNU, the press release said.The scholars' system outputs are intended to benefit the provincial government, in coordination with the Information and Communication Technology Division.The five best systems co...