July 2, 2025

Baguio: The Department of Agriculture (DA) in the Cordillera region announced Wednesday that it has received a mobile soil testing laboratory from the national government to support local farmers in optimizing fertilizer use and improving crop yields. DA-Cordillera Director, lawyer Jennilyn Dawayan, confirmed that the region is one of the recipients of the 16 Mobile Soil Laboratory (MSL), a fully equipped 10-wheeler truck capable of analyzing 44 soil and water parameters. According to Philippines News Agency, the lab will rotate through municipalities in the region, conducting on-site soil analysis and immediately issuing fertilizer recommendations to farmers, free of charge. Dawayan

Cagayan: A total of 103,818 coconut seedlings have been planted in Cagayan province since last year, with ongoing efforts to reach the nationwide target of 100 million coconut trees by 2028. According to Philippines News Agency, Noel Compra, area coordinator of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) in Cagayan, stated that under the Massive Coconut Planting and Replanting Project (MCPP), the PCA is encouraging farmers’ cooperatives, state universities and colleges, and other public and private partners to join the nationwide replanting and expansion of coconut tree plantations to achieve the 100-million target. Compra highlighted that communal coconut nurseries are currently located

Mabalacat city: Law enforcement authorities seized a large cache of marijuana-based products during a buy-bust operation that led to the arrest of three high-value individuals (HVIs) in Barangay Bical, Mabalacat City, on Wednesday. According to Philippines News Agency, the afternoon operation was launched by the Station Drug Enforcement Unit (SDEU) of the Mabalacat City Police Station at around 2:52 p.m. and resulted in the arrest of suspects identified by their aliases ‘Jek-Jek,’ ‘Josh,’ and ‘Ana,’ all residents of Pampanga and Angeles City. Confiscated during the operation were 2 kilograms of dried marijuana leaves, 520 grams of suspected “kush,” 218 marijuana-laced

Cagayan de oro: The new administration of the Misamis Oriental provincial government will implement stricter enforcement against illegal mining activities. In a statement Wednesday, Governor Juliette Uy urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), along with the local leaders of the two concerned municipalities in the province, to take immediate action on the environmental issue. According to Philippines News Agency, Governor Uy expressed concerns about the alleged proliferation of illegal gold mining and quarrying operations in the towns of Opol and Manticao. She emphasized that if mining were legalized and properly regulated, it

Manila: The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) is exerting all efforts to prevent the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) infestation from reaching Mindanao, which has recorded the highest growth in sugar production for the current crop year. In a statement on Wednesday, Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona reiterated that Mindanao is the country’s next frontier in terms of sugarcane production and that the SRA is eyeing the expansion of its services in the region. ‘If you look at our production numbers this year, the highest growth for sugar production is in Mindanao,’ he added. According to Philippines News Agency, during a press