Day: August 21, 2024

BACOLOD CITY: The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) is eyeing a satellite office in Mindanao as sugar farmers in the southern part of the country formed an alliance recently. In a statement to the media here on Wednesday, SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said the regulatory agency will improve its presence in Mindanao. ‘We will look into establishing an SRA satellite office in Bukidnon to bring our services closer to the farmers,’ he added. Azcona met with the Mindanao Federation of Sugarcane Planters Inc. led by former Bukidnon Third District Rep. Manuel Antonio Zubiri on the sidelines of the Philippine Sugar

BACOLOD CITY: The Negros Occidental provincial government is establishing a common sanitary landfill worth PHP30 million for nine local government units (LGUs) in La Castellana town. This is among the initiatives pursued by the province through the Provincial Environment Management Office, as its 10-year Solid Waste Management (SWM) Plan got the approval of the National SWM Commission. As of Wednesday, the selected clustered LGU beneficiaries are Pulupandan, Valladolid, San Enrique, Pontevedra, Hinigaran, Binalbagan, Moises Padilla, and Isabela, aside from the host-municipality of La Castellana, which do not have waste disposal facility. ‘The construction is expected to be completed by November

MANILA: Choco Mucho seeks to secure the last quarterfinal berth in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference when it battles PLDT at the FilOil EcoOil Center in San Juan City on Thursday. The Flying Titans take on the High Speed Hitters at 3 p.m. Choco Mucho is in ninth place with a 2-5 slate and seven points, half a game behind Farm Fresh (3-5) with eight points. A victory will send Choco Mucho to the knockout stage, setting up a duel with top seed Akari (8-0). If PLDT wins in five sets, Choco Mucho will get one point and

MANILA: The Department of Agriculture (DA) reported Wednesday the opening of a new quarantine office of the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) at the Subic Freeport Zone, which is expected to enhance the country’s agricultural biosecurity and address potential risks posed by plant pests and diseases. ‘The establishment of this new office holds significant importance due to its position as a prominent center for trade and logistics,” DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement, referring to the completion of the BPI’s PHP2-million project. He said the Subic Freeport office is also crucial to achieving the administration’s food

GENEVA: The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended “targeted vaccination” instead of mass jab to fight mpox in areas where the virus has been detected. ‘It’s not recommended for mass vaccination; that’s very important. It really needs to be targeted vaccination where the virus is transmitting,’ WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said, adding that the virus is easier to deal with than Covid-19. Noting that the rapid spread of the virus has captured global attention, she said the mpox virus has two genetic types: Clade 1 and Clade 2. Harris expressed concern over the new strain of the virus, Clade 1b,