HEADLINE

By CESAR JOLITO III Key government officials, industry leaders, planters, and workers convened for a high-level public consultation to address the continued decline in mill gate sugar prices in Negros Occidental, a development that has triggered heavy losses across the sugar sector and raised concerns over the long-term viability of sugarcane farming. Held pursuant to …

By CESAR JOLITO III The Department of Agriculture in the Negros Island Region (DA-NIR) has assured farmers that recent sightings of rice black bugs in Negros Oriental pose no serious threat to the region’s rice production. DA-NIR Director Engineer Albert Barrogo said the monitoring showed the presence of rice black bugs in only four out …

By CESAR JOLITO III Small-scale sugar farmers, Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) and sugar industry workers are calling for urgent reforms and accountability from the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) as opaque policies have devastated livelihoods and threatened the future of the local sugar industry. In a manifesto released this week, the National Congress of Unions in …

By CESAR JOLITO III A Negros-based consumer group has joined growing calls for a clear and time-bound energy roadmap for the Visayas as government projections point to a possible power supply shortfall this year. The Alliance of Concerned Consumers in Electricity and Social Services (ACCESS) said it is backing warnings raised by the Cebu Electricity …

By CESAR JOLITO III President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. said the newly inaugurated Sum-ag Water Treatment Plant will ensure a reliable and sustainable water supply for Bacolod City, with the facility capable of delivering up to 75 million liters of potable water per day, benefiting about 100,000 households or roughly 500,000 residents through the Bacolod City …

  By CESAR JOLITO III Negros Oriental 3rd District Representative Janice Degamo said the recent acquittal of former Representative Arnolfo Teves, Jr. in a 2019 murder case is “painful and difficult to accept,” stressing that it does not absolve him of accountability in other pending cases, including the deadly Pamplona Massacre in 2023. In a …

By CESAR JOLITO III The General Alliance of Workers Association (GAWA) has issued a strong call for urgent action to address the deepening crisis confronting the sugar industry, warning that government inefficiencies and policy gaps continue to threaten the sector’s survival. In a press statement yesterday, GAWA Secretary General Wennie Sancho said the resilience of …

By CESAR JOLITO III The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has rejected claims of non-transparency surrounding the planned export of 100,000 metric tons of sugar to the United States, saying the agency followed established procedures and acted in response to persistently low domestic sugar prices. SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said the agency itself was awaiting …

By CESAR JOLITO III State volcanologists have recorded a significant increase in seismic activity at Kanlaon Volcano, which could potentially lead to a moderately explosive eruption, after a total of 45 volcano-tectonic earthquakes were monitored yesterday. In an advisory, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said volcano-tectonic earthquakes, detected by the Kanlaon Volcano …

By CESAR JOLITO III Labor and farmer groups in the sugar sector have raised concerns over the Sugar Regulatory Administration’s (SRA) plan to export 100,000 metric tons of sugar to the United States, citing transparency issues and questioning whether the move will genuinely address the industry’s ongoing price slump. In a press statement, the National …