- Capitol proposes a ₱14.6-billion budget for 2027, with 40% for health
- Visayas grid on yellow alert again as coal plants stay down
- Cebu province inflation eases to 9.2% in September
- Fire bureau lines up backup water for firefighting in the dry months
Capitol proposes a ₱14.6-billion budget for 2027, with 40% for health
Governor Pamela Baricuatro submitted the province's proposed 2027 budget of ₱14.6 billion to the Provincial Board on Thursday, 15 October. That is 22.7% more than this year's ₱11.9 billion. Health gets the biggest share at ₱5.865 billion, or 40.2% of the total, and about ₱354.8 million goes to agriculture and food security. The Capitol says the increase rests on a bigger national tax allotment and more income from the provincial hospitals.
Nothing is final yet: the Provincial Board still has to deliberate and approve it. The health money funds the Capitol-run hospitals, including the provincial hospital in Carcar, but the reports do not break it down by hospital.
Visayas grid on yellow alert again as coal plants stay down
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines put the Visayas grid on yellow alert from 5 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, 15 October. Available supply was about 2,557 megawatts against an expected peak of 2,479 megawatts, too thin a margin for the required reserve. Two large coal units, PEDC 3 in Panay and KSPC 1 in Naga, Cebu, were unavailable, power coming in from Mindanao was reduced by plant outages there, and 17 Visayas plants were running below capacity.
A yellow alert means reserves are thin, not that power is cut. Neither report mentions brownouts. If supply falls below demand, NGCP raises a red alert, and that is when rotating outages can reach CEBECO I areas like Carcar. Keep a charged light and power bank handy on hot afternoons.
Sources: GMA Regional TV, DZME
Cebu province inflation eases to 9.2% in September
Prices in the province of Cebu rose 9.2% in September from a year earlier, down from 9.5% in August, according to the Cebu Provincial Statistical Office. Cheaper transport did most of the work, with transport inflation falling to 13.5% from 17.6%. Food is still the biggest driver at 10.7%. For the poorest 30% of households, inflation slowed to 10.9% from 11.5%. The three Metro Cebu cities, which are counted separately, went the other way: Cebu City rose to 8.4%, Mandaue to 6.8% and Lapu-Lapu to 5.0%.
The provincial rate is the closest measure for Carcar. A 9.2% rate still means a basket that cost ₱1,000 a year ago now costs about ₱1,092, and food is rising faster than that.
Sources: SunStar, The Manila Times
Fire bureau lines up backup water for firefighting in the dry months
The Bureau of Fire Protection in Central Visayas has told its fire stations to list other water sources, such as rivers and swimming pools, in case hydrants and supply run short. It is preparing fire trucks and water tankers to draw from them, and asked local governments to help find sources and strengthen their own fire stations. It also wants proper equipment in areas prone to grass and forest fires during extreme heat.
With dry weather expected in Cebu toward the end of the year, grass fires and slow water supply become a bigger risk. Keep grass cut around your house, do not burn trash on dry days, and save the number of the Carcar fire station.
Source: The Freeman
