The ambassador of Norway last night reiterated his country’s support in the search for a solution to the armed conflict between the government and various rebel groups in Negros Occidental, and in other areas of the country as well.

Ambassador Hans Brattskar, at a peace forum in Bacolod City,  said he will get some inputs and views from various stakeholders in the peace process in Negros Occidental.

“We feel it is our obligation to support you who are doing so much, to bring peace to your country,” Brattskar said.

Senate President Manuel Villar yesterday said the recent Supreme Court ruling allowing former socioeconomic secretary Romulo Neri to invoke executive privilege suppresses the truth and endangers democracy, but added “We will not give up on this, we will continue to fight.”

The Senate probe into the controversial national broadband deal is more than just an investigation, it is the future  of the country at stake, said Villar, who spoke at the Carlos Hilado Memorial State College graduation rites in Bacolod City.

Villar said Senate investigations are needed, not just to ferret out the truth in the NBN deal, but to put a stop to billions of dollars being stolen from the nation’s coffers through various other projects.

A joint team of the Sugar Regulatory Administration and the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group confiscated 281 bags of smuggled Thai sugar in Cebu City yesterday, SRA Administrator Rafael Coscolluela said.

He said the sugar had mostly been found in their original Thai sacks in several retail outlets in Tabuan and Carbon, Cebu City.

Refined sugar currently sells at P1,100 per 50 kilobag wholesale and P36 per kilo retail, he said. The port of entry of the smuggled sugar is most likely the Cebu port, he said.