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The Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations Inc. (CONFED) on Wednesday, July 20, welcomed the plan of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to explore government-to-government fertilizer purchase with, at least, five countries to cushion the impact of the commodity's continued prohibitive cost that may have direct implications to the Philippines' food security situation."We are happy to hear this development. It's the same proposal we made as early as August 2021 after fertilizer cost skyrocketed and more than doubled over the year-ago level," CONFED national president Raymond V. Montinola said in reaction to Marcos' plan which he announced in a meeting Monday with Department of Agriculture officials.The President has temporarily assumed the post of agriculture secretary."Finall...

Anthony Gerard Suatengco and Miguel Antonio Peña take their oaths before Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson (l-r)*Vice Mayor Miguel Antonio Peña took his oath of office as mayor of Pulupandan town before Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson at the Capitol in Bacolod City on  Wednesday morning, July 20.Peña replaced his cousin Mayor Lorenzo Suatengco who resigned citing health reasons that will affect his capacity to carry out his responsibilities.Lorenzo Suatengco’s cousin, Councilor Anthony Gerard Suatengco, also took his oath of office as vice mayor of Pulupandan before Lacson on Wednesday.Peña, a three-term mayor, ran for vice mayor of Pulupandan in the May polls, while his uncle Antonio Suatengco ran for mayor.However, Antonio Suatengco, 72, who was unopposed died ...

Murcia ViceMayor Johnny Reosura and Mayor Gerry Rojas (1st and 2nd from left, front row) with Namegata City Deputy Mayor Hideaki Nagamine and other city officials during their meeting at the Nagemoto City Hall in Japan on July 12. Also in photo are Tricastle President Leah Tinsay, Marucon Chairman Kazuo Arai, Chinese counterpart Wang Yu, Managing Director Toshiki Koyama, and Chinese-Japan Agricultural Cooperative Chairman Ryu Bin and Mr. Ma.*On top of the construction interns being sent to Japan by Tricastle International and the municipality of Murcia, the group is exploring the possibility of sending female agricultural trainees to Japan.This was disclosed by Murcia Mayor Gerry Rojas and Vice Mayor Johnny Reosura after they returned from their trip to Namegata City, Japan, on&nbs...

Task Force Botagoy conducts inspections on Tuesday, July 19.*TF Botagoy photoTask Force Botagoy led by Dra. Ma. Agueda Tinidad Dela Torre visited several slaughterhouses and storage facilities in Bacolod City on Tuesday, July 19.The Task Force was recently reorganized by Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez through Executive Order No. 007 signed on July 13.Inspected by the task force Tuesday was Jentec Storage Inc. in Brgy. Mansilingan, Bacolod City.Jentec is the warehouse of products owned by CDO Foodspher, Inc., Virginia Food Inc. and Jollibee.De la Torre said they conduct regular inspections is to ensure that Jentec's storage facility has proper handling and storage of products.Task Force Botagoy is comprised of personnel from the City Mayor’s Office, City Veterinary O...

San Carlos City’s Sipaway Island is the most visited tourist site in Western Visayas in 2021.*San Carlos Tourism Office photoSipaway Island in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, is the top tourist site in Western Visayas based on the number of its visitors in 2021.This was presented by Tim Ticar, Senior Tourism Operations Officer of the Department of Tourism Region 6, during the 3rd Quarter Negros Occidental Tourism Officer’s meeting on Monday, July 18, at the Social Hall of  Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City.Based on the data, six of the top 10 tourist attractions in the region are in Negros Occidental.Sipaway Island, known for its pristine white sand beaches, was visited by 75,685 individuals last year, followed by  the Bantug Lake Ranch in Bacolod City with 5...

Bacolod Election officer Kathrina Trinio-Caña*Election officer Kathrina Trinio-Caña wants to know if Bacolod’s curfew for minors still exist.If it does she is hoping it can be enforced by authorities to prevent minors from camping out at night to be the first in line to register to vote when the Comelec opens in the morning, Caña said Tuesday, July 17.There is an existing Bacolod City ordinance that set the curfew for minors from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., Councilor Em Ang said.Caña said the registration of voters for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls starts at 8 a.m. and Comelec personnel at 7 a.m.  give out numbers to those wishing to register.“The numbers we issue is to determine the applicants we can cater to for the whole day”, she said, pointing out that th...

The two minors who allegedly yielded suspected shabu at a checkpoint in San Carlos City on Monday, July 18.*San Carlos PNP photoTwo teenagers yielded suspected illegal drugs during a checkpoint at  the Eco TransLink National Highway in  Brgy. Rizal, San Carlos City, Monday, July 18.The minors, aged 15 and 16 years old, both of Barangay 5, were onboard a motorcycle when they were caught by the police after they allegedly violated checkpoint rules.When searched by the authorities, they yielded four sachets of suspected shabu, a coin purse, P21 worth of coins, and two lighters.Both were turned over to the City Social Welfare and Development Office.*

Ilog town in Negros Occidental has been deescalated to Alert Level 1, the Department of Health announced Tuesday, July 19.Ilog joins Bacolod City and 11 other local government units in Negros Occidental that will remain under Alert Level 1 until July 31.President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has issued a directive to retain the COVID-19 Alert Level System for now.Ilog was deescalated to Alert Level 1 because it is nearing the COVID-19 vaccination thresholds for its target general population and the senior citizen priority group, the DOH said.The 11 other LGUs under Alert Level 1 in Negros Occidental are Cadiz City, Candoni, Talisay City,  Victorias City,  EB Magalona, La Carlota City, Pontevedra, Pulupandan, Sagay City, San Enrique and Valladolid.The rest of Negros Oc...

Areas with stagnant water are breeding grounds for dengue mosquitoes*The Provincial Health Office is calling on local government units (LGUs) in Negros Occidental to activate their   dengue task forces.The majority of the LGUs in Negros Occidental still have not formed their task forces that should be headed by the mayor of the locality, Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, provincial health officer, said Tuesday, July 19.The local dengue task forces need to be activated to ensure coordinated and swift responses against the rising dengue cases, he said.Tumimbang said he will call a meeting with LGU and DepEd representatives for dengue updating and to discuss the need to implement the Enhanced 4-S campaign.The Enhanced 4-S campaign stands for Search and destroy mosquito-...