Senators buck government plan to liberalize sugar imports

MANILA, Philippines — Several senators are urging the government not to proceed with its plan to allow more sugar imports into the country.

These lawmakers include Senators Sonny Angara, Nancy Binay, JV Ejercito, Win Gatchalian, Richard Gordon, Loren Legarda, Koko Pimentel, Joel Villanueva, Cynthia Villar and Juan Miguel Zubiri.

They said the deregulation of the industry would not affect the competitiveness of the sugar-containing food products for export because the Sugar Regulatory Administration already allows exporters to openly import sugar without value-added tax provided that the end-product is exported and not sold locally.

“Sugar farmers are scattered across 28 provinces and if the sugar industry will collapse as a result of the liberalization, poverty incidence will increase and they will become the hotbed of insurgency and criminality,” the senators said.

SRA board member for the planters side Emilio Yulo welcomed the Senate resolution, saying the move provides a “glimmer of hope” for the industry.

“We hope that like our senators, the economic managers will also visit the fields so they can empathize with our small farmers which they will never get to do within the confines of their air-conditioned offices,” he said.

The Confederation of Sugar Producers Association (CONFED), for its part, said the planned liberalization could lead to the demise of the industry.

“We are not letting our guards down.  We will continue to be vigilant and seek the intervention of our President to ensure that the plans of the economic managers will never be implemented,” Confed spokesperson Raymond Montinola said.