Friday, February 15, 2019
BY CARLA P. GOMEZ

The Visayan Bloc in the House of Representatives yesterday pledged its support tothe call of the sugar industry stakeholders for a review of the proposed import liberalization of sugar by the country’s economic managers.

The move could lead to the collapse of the sugar industry, the Visayan Bloc congressmen said in a joint statement released by Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District).

The Visayan Bloc members said they will support any government initiatives that will strengthen the local sugar industry and enhance competitiveness through appropriate regulation.

They said they are committed to be the voice of the sugar industry and its allies in the House of Representatives. “Your welfare and security are our foremost priorities,” was their message to the sugar industry stakeholders.

The proposal of some economic managers to liberalize the sugar industry through deregulation of sugar imports will, among others, allow the direct importation by any sugar user, the Visayan Bloc said.

This proposal has been met with staunch resistance from the sugar industry, particularly the sugar farmers from across 28 provinces in the country that include Cagayan Valley, Tarlac, Pampanga, Batangas, Camarines Sur, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Iloilo, Capiz, Antique, Leyte, Cebu, Bukidnon, Davao del Sur, Sarangani Province, North and South Cotabato, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Laguna, Cavite, Quezon province, and Lanao del Sur, the Visayan Bloc pointed out.

Executive Order No. 18 creating the Sugar Regulatory Administration, the Biofuels Act of 2006 and the Sugar Industry Development Act of 2015 are testaments to the vital role the sugar industry plays in ensuring the country’s food security, employment, food safety, sustainable development, clean energy, social amelioration initiatives, peace and order in the countryside, and contribution to national economy and national development, the Visayan Bloc said.

Rep. Jesulito Manalo (Angkla Partylist), who was in Bacolod City yesterday, said that before sugar import liberalization is recommended, a thorough study should be conducted on its impact on the sugar industry.

The proponents need to understand that jobs could be lost and the industry devastated without adequate support to local farmers to be competitive with the rest of the world, he said.

Manalo pointed out that even US President Donald Trump is protecting the United States against the China so American jobs and industries are not lost.

The country’s economic managers want to import sugar to lower the prices in the domestic market but, eventually, the foreign suppliers will raise the prices.

That is because once the Philippine sugar industry is dead, the country will not have any choice but to import, Manalo said.

He called on the country’s economic managers to conduct a thorough study and consult the sugar industry stakeholders before going ahead with their move.

Manalo said he has also asked his staff to see if even while the House is on recess, they can hold a committee hearing and come up with a position to be presented to the president on the danger of sugar import liberalization at this time.*