Top Stories

A RSSI hit sugarcane field.*SRA photoA total of 134,386.10 hectares have been reported to be affected by the Red Striped Soft-Scale Insect (RSSI) infestation, representing 31.90 percent of the country’s sugarcane plantations nationwide.The Visayas, specifically Negros Occidental, was the worst hit, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) reported on Tuesday, Sept. 1.The  SRA said the  reported RSSI-affected areas in the Visayas cover 131,475.66 hectares, or 47.77 percent of its sugarcane fields. This is followed by Mindanao with 2,274.51 hectares (2.32 percent) and Luzon with 753.93 hectares (1.63 percent).Of the total affected area reported as of August 14, the SRA has validated 67,443.76 hectares across 1,093 barangays, affecting 39,281 farmers.Within the ...

Edward Du, president of the Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said at a press conference on Tuesday.*PNA/Judy Flores Partlow photoThe Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NOCCI) and other business and sectoral groups are seeking a congressional inquiry into the operations of the Negros Oriental II Electric Cooperative (NORECO II) due to concerns about power reliability and service quality.NOCCI president Edward Du said at a press conference Tuesday, September 1,  that they had submitted a position paper to Congress opposing the early renewal of NORECO II’s legislative franchise, which is set to expire in February 2033.“We have three issues: System loss and brownouts, but for the business sector, our primary concern is low voltage, which is the ...