Business

Rep. Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District)*Lawmakers are taking their probe into the "crisis-hit" sugar industry directly to its stakeholders with a joint Senate-House of Representatives public consultation in Negros Occidental on January 23, Rep. Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) announced on Thursday, Jan. 8.The hearing will be led by Rep. Mark Enverga for the House and Sen. Kiko Pangilinan for the Senate, said Benitez, who will be hosting the event.“This follows the resolution I filed calling for a joint House–Senate inquiry on the sugar industry,” he said.“This is a very important time for our farmers' voices to be heard and for all of us to help the sugarcane industry,” Benitez said.“The sugar industry is in crisis. Precipitous...

The National Federation of Sugarcane Planters and labor groups on Thursday, Jan. 8, called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s intervention to address the plummeting millgate sugar prices.NFSP and the National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (NACUSIP-TUCP), the Philippine Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial Workers Union (PACIWU), the Congress of Independent Organizations (CIO-UNI) and the NACUSIP Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Council said they support the Confederation of Sugar Producers Association’s (Confed) proposed measures to arrest the further decline of sugar and molasses prices.“It has come to the point that sugarcane farmers are seriously considering abandoning sugarcane cultivation because of unprofitable millgate prices this crop year,” NFSP...

Negros Occidental’s new online jobs portal is receiving a positive response, with 31 employers posting 86 vacancies and nearly 4,700 active jobseekers registered since its December launch.Provincial Public Employment Services Office manager Karen Dinsay said Thursday, Jan. 8, the Negros jobs portal is easy to navigate and accessible for both employers and applicants.“They said the portal is very easy to navigate for both the employers and the applicants. It is very accessible,” Dinsay said, adding more companies are expected to join.The portal has already facilitated seven successful hires. Jan Roland Broce, 27, of La Carlota City, was the first, landing a job as a business development officer in December.“After I scanned the QR code, I found the portal easy to navigate. I ...

Sugar workers face the prospects of drastic work reductions, CONFED president Aurelio Gerardo Valderrama Jr. said *Ronnie Baldonado file photoThe Confederation of Sugar Producers Association (CONFED) is calling on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to implement a government-financed buying program to arrest the problem of plummeting millgate sugar prices.On top of the announced no sugar importation until December 2026, concrete measures are needed to raise domestic sugar and molasses prices, reduce local sugar inventory, and establish a clear and predictable policy environment to restore confidence in the domestic sugar industry as a major economic driver, CONFED president Aurelio Gerardo Valderrama Jr. said in his letter to the president, which was released to the media on Wednesday...

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson delivering his New Year’s message.* Richard Malihan photoNegros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson officially opened the 2026 work year by outlining an agenda that prioritizes food safety, disaster logistics, and the full operationalization of the Negros Island Region (NIR).In his New Year message following a Thanksgiving Mass attended by Negros Occidental provincial officials and department heads and employees at the Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City on Monday, Jan. 5, Lacson said “building on the achievements of the past year, we now look ahead with concrete plans for 2026”.NEW ABATTOIRSThe provincial government will operationalize newly constructed abattoirs in Hinoba-an, Cauayan, Binalbagan, Murcia, Toboso, and San Carlos, training loc...

Sugar milling is in full swing.*Nic Ledesma file photoNegros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson on Monday, Jan. 5, expressed continued concern over the prevailing sugar crisis, noting that millgate prices have yet to see an upward trend.He said  as of now no sugar order has been issued by the national government toy address the low millgate prices.“I’m still waiting to see if there is indeed a solution to the low prices,” Lacson said. “This week, we will know if there is any improvement in sugar prices.”The governor said there is a growing sense of resignation among local producers, pointing out that “there are even planters who have accepted the fact that we will have to bite the bullet already.”Lacson described the current situation as a “double whammy” for...