- Bohol bans live hogs from Ginatilan for 60 days over African swine fever
- Haze keeps Metro Cebu's air unhealthy for sensitive groups
- Cebu province's economy grew just 2.7% in 2025 after a year of disasters
- Mandaue council asks energy agencies for help with frequent brownouts
Bohol bans live hogs from Ginatilan for 60 days over African swine fever
Bohol Governor Aris Aumentado signed Executive Order 47 on 30 September, suspending for 60 days the entry of live hogs and pork products from ASF-affected areas of Cebu. It names Ginatilan, where ASF was confirmed in Barangays Cagsing and Calabawan. Hogs from other Cebu towns can still enter Bohol after verification and the usual veterinary and shipping papers. On the Cebu side, the two Ginatilan barangays are under quarantine with six checkpoints, and Governor Pamela Baricuatro warned that smugglers will be caught. Negros Oriental wants Cebu to test its hogs before shipment.
Carcar is not covered by the Bohol ban, so local raisers who ship pigs to Bohol can still do so if their papers are complete. None of these reports list a case in Carcar, and keeping it that way protects the lechon trade: buy piglets and pork only from documented sources, keep visitors out of pens, and report sick or dying pigs to the City Veterinary Office right away.
Sources: SunStar, SunStar Superbalita, The Freeman
Haze keeps Metro Cebu's air unhealthy for sensitive groups
Smoke from forest fires in Kalimantan, Indonesia, is still reaching Cebu. On 1 October the regional environment bureau's Metro Cebu station read an air quality index of 141 at 7 a.m., 136 at 11 a.m. and 125 at 4 p.m., all in the 'unhealthy for sensitive groups' band. The Toledo City station stayed in the 'good' range. The worst reading so far was 296 on 20 September, just below the emergency level of 301. Weather forecasters expect below-normal to near-normal rain in October.
There is no monitoring station in Carcar, so watch the sky: if it looks hazy, people with asthma or other lung problems, older people and small children should limit time outdoors, and an N95 or KN95 mask helps. A simple cloth or surgical mask does little against this kind of smoke.
Sources: SunStar, SunStar Superbalita
Cebu province's economy grew just 2.7% in 2025 after a year of disasters
New figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority show Cebu province's economy grew 2.7% in 2025, down from 7.4% in 2024. Cebu City grew 5.8%, Lapu-Lapu 3.3% and Mandaue 2.1%, all slower than the year before, and Central Visayas as a whole grew 3.7%. In the province, services grew 5% while industry shrank 0.6% and agriculture shrank 2.7%. Provincial planners blamed two strong typhoons and the September earthquake. Health and social work was the fastest growing sector.
Cebu City, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu are counted separately, so the 2.7% figure is the one that covers Carcar and the other towns and component cities. A shrinking farm sector matters here, and with El Niño already setting in, farmers and market vendors should expect another hard year.
Sources: SunStar, The Freeman
Mandaue council asks energy agencies for help with frequent brownouts
The Mandaue City Council passed a resolution asking the Department of Energy, the Energy Regulatory Commission and the National Electrification Administration for financial relief, power subsidies and emergency power allocations, and for a technical team to audit the grid. It says frequent and prolonged interruptions are hurting small businesses, markets, factories and residents, and points to grid stability, capacity limits and generation shortfalls.
Mandaue is on a different power utility from Carcar, which is served mostly by CEBECO I, but the shortage on Cebu's grid is the same one behind it. Keep phones and lights charged before the evening peak and check CEBECO I's notices for scheduled interruptions.
Source: The Freeman
