As soon as the 900th Air Force Weather Group arrives from Manila this week, the cloud-seeding operation in Negros Occidental will start, Dennis Penuela of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, said.

Penuela who is the coordinator of the operation, said they have prioritized the southern portion of the province but that, everything will depend on wind speed and direction.

He added that the planned cloud-seeding can last for one month or until the rain comes.

'Sagay molasses spillage
reaches 400 to 500 MTs'

Molasses that spilled from the storage tank of the Sagay Sugar Central to the Danao River in Escalante City on April 7, was estimated to be between 400 to 500 metric tons, police said.

Inspector Mateo Maguate, Escalante police chief, however, said there is no cause for alarm since molasses are nutrients and will easily dilute when mixed with water, citing reports of the Philippine Coast Guard.

Molasses stored at the Sagay Sugar Central depot in Brgy. Old Poblacion, Escalante, reportedly caved in, causing the spill. Escalante Mayor Santiago Barcelona maintained that the molasses spill was minimal, and is not expected to damage the environment.

FDIs, strong peso lifting
RP economy: Palace

Malacañang said in a statement yesterday that foreign direct investments and the strong peso are boosting the country's economy.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the Arroyo administration continues to be upbeat over the report of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas that FDIs "recorded net inflows of US$357 million, or a year-on-year growth of almost 51 percent" in January 2007 alone, the Malacañang statement added. He said that "FDIs are markers of global confidence while the strong peso is the handiwork of Filipino excellence and patriotism exemplified by our overseas contract workers."

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The VisayanDaily Star
25th Anniversary
Supplementary Issue