Presidential Chief of Staff Mike Defensor yesterday said that Negros Occidental remains a good source of ethanol despite reports that the province is no longer a priority area for ethanol production.

Defensor, who joined President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during her visit to Bacolod City, said that Negros Occidental is still a major area, if the not "the area" for ethanol production.

"It has the resources. It just needs to establish the technology and put up the plants," he said.

Prices of 'B' sugar stable

Millgate prices of "B" or raw sugar remain stable as they continued to stay above P1,200 per 50-Lkg at the bidding on Thursday, data from the Sugar Master Plan Foundation show.

This week, BISCOM sold its stocks at P1,268.50; Hawaiian-Philippine Company, P1,230.42; SONEDCO, P1,210.01; Sagay Central Inc., P1,225; CADP, P1,268; BUSCO, P1,225; Passi I, P1,258; and Passi II, P1,245.

On April 20, prices were from P1,220 to P1,285. It leveled between P1,215 and P1,280 on April 6 while a week earlier, prices went as high as P1,298 per lkg. from only between P1,200 and P1,254 on March 23.*NLG

PSE warns gov't of dire consequences if
suspension of RVAT pushes through

The Philippine Stock Exchange said there will be dire economic consequences if the government decides to suspend the reformed value-added tax on fuel products and power service.

"We understand the need to mitigate the impact of a looming and painful spiral in oil prices but we appeal to the government to avoid playing to the gallery, because a populist decision to suspend the RVAT will just aggravate our situation," Francis Lim, PSE president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

He said that stock prices, as tracked by the PSEi, retreated on Tuesday after newspapers reported a government plan to suspend the RVAT on fuel products and electricity service to cushion the impact of high oil prices to consumers.

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