By CESAR JOLITO III The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) have approved an extension of the nationwide moratorium on molasses importation until March 30, 2026, citing the need to stabilize prices and protect local producers amid a continuing domestic oversupply. The extension effectively prolongs Molasses Order No. 1, first issued …
Monthly Archives: November 2025
De La Noche steers Cignal past Kindai
By ADRIAN STEWART CO With its four-peat hopes on the line, the Cignal Super Spikers leaned on a career game by Jay Rack de la Noche to hand previously unbeaten Kindai University its first loss, 25-20, 25-21, 24-26, 25-18, in the 2025 Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference at the Ynares Center in Montalban, Rizal on Tuesday, …
Aguilar bags 4th world title in Abu Dhabi tourney
By ADRIAN STEWART CO Bacolodnon Aleia Aielle Aguilar continued her remarkable rise in international jiu-jitsu, securing her fourth world crown after dominating the Kids 2, Girls Gi, 22-kg A Class (gray belt) division of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-jitsu Championship (AJP). The eight-year-old Bacolodnon standout posted a convincing 3-0 win over United Arab Emirates’ …
Magic demolish 76ers, set franchise scoring records
Anthony Black scored a career-high 31 points to highlight the Orlando Magic’s 144-103 annihilation of the host Philadelphia 76ers in an NBA Cup game yesterday (Philippine time). Black scored 27 points in the first half, including a 20-point second quarter as Orlando set a franchise record for points in any quarter with 51 in the stanza. The …
McCollum’s 46 downs Hawks, gives Wizards 1st win
CJ McCollum scored a season-high 46 points on 10 three-pointers yesterday (Philippine time), leading the Washington Wizards to a rare 132-113 victory over the visiting Atlanta Hawks in NBA Cup group play. Alex Sarr had 27 points and 11 rebounds, while Corey Kispert totaled 19 points for the Wizards, who led by as many as …
Forced to flee:‘Verbena’ leaves 19-K Negrenses displaced
By CESAR JOLITO III Nearly 19,000 residents across Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City, have been evacuated as Tropical Depression “Verbena” brought heavy rains, widespread flooding and dangerous river swelling yesterday. The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) reported that 4,230 families or 13,831 individuals fled their homes across the province. PDRRMO chief Irene Bel …
In memoriam: Judge Carmela Pasquin
By Dennis Gorecho “Why no car, Judge?” It was a rainy Thursday evening in Iloilo City when good friend, Fiscal Myra Duremdes, mentioned over coffee the death of a female judge due to a motorcycle accident. The 41-year-old Carmela Rosario Pasquin, Presiding Judge of the Municipal Circuit Trial Court (MCTC) of Pinamungajan-Aloguinsan towns in Cebu …
Drop the load
By Herman M. Lagon There are days when you think the biggest surprise will be the capping snacks at the hotel, and then a friend across the secretariat table casually says she might need a TAHBSO — “tabsu,” as she called it. It was said half in jest, half in exhausted honesty, and suddenly all …
Super typhoons in PH have become more frequent, scientists say
Stronger typhoons in the Philippines have become more frequent in recent years, according to two climate scientists from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa). Dr. Joseph Basconcillo said their study of tropical cyclones from 1996 to 2022 showed a rise in the number of super typhoons that developed in or entered the …
Lifting GMO ban would endanger farmers, environment: bishops
By CESAR JOLITO III The three Catholic bishops of Negros Occidental have issued a joint pastoral statement strongly opposing efforts to lift the province’s long-standing ban on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), warning that the proposal would “endanger public health, undermine farmers and betray the island’s ecological identity.” The statement comes as the provincial government is deliberating …