The National Food Authority expects 120,000 bags of imported rice to arrive first week of May in Negros Occidental.

The stocks are part of the 1.2 million imported rice allocation for Western Visayas for 2008, Vilma Zarraga, NFA 6 officer-in-charge, said.

Last Monday, 130,000 bags arrived in Iloilo for distribution to five provinces in Panay, including Iloilo, Aklan, Antique, Capiz and Guimaras.

Tan merging PNB, Allied Bank

MANILA - Two Philippine banks will merge to form the country's third-largest lender with assets of $388 billion ($9.19 billion), officials said yesterday, as tycoon Lucio Tan consolidates his banking interests.

The boards of Philippine National Bank, the country's fourth largest and Allied Banking Corp, the eighth largest, agreed to the merger by a share swap with PNB emerging as the surviving entity, their presidents said.

Tan is the largest shareholder of both lenders. On December 7 last year the Supreme Court lifted a freeze on Allied Bank shares, opening the door to the merger with PNB.

Use organic feeds for tastier,
better-looking fish, grower says

An organic aquaculturist from Sipalay City said fish feed with natural or organic food actually looks, smells and tastes better than fish supplied with synthetic feeds.  

Francisco Britanico, who has a 45-hectare fish farm in Barangay Nabulao, has been practising organic fish growing for four years now.

He grows milkfish, black tiger prawns, white Pacific shrimps, mudcrab and tilapia using organic fertilizers.

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