BACOLOD CITY , Philippines — Congressional representatives of Negros Island are strongly against sugar import liberalization, as proposed by Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, which will allow food and beverage manufacturers to directly import sugar.
In House Resolution 1199, Reps. Jose Francisco Benitez, Joseph Stephen Paduano, Greg Gasataya, Gerardo Valmayor Jr., Alfredo Marañon III, Juliet Marie Ferrer, Emilio Bernardino Yulo, Mercedes Alvarez, Michael Gorriceta, Jocelyn Limkaichong and Manuel Sagarbarria – who represent 11 congressional districts in Oriental and Occidental Negros – said the liberalization of sugar importation would have a negative impact on the domestic sugar industry.
Diokno earlier said his proposition forms part of the finance department proposal to increase the tax rate of sugar sweetened beverages in the country.
Republic Act 10963, known as the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, imposed a tax of P6 per liter of sweetened beverages using purely caloric or non caloric sweeteners, or a combination of these, and P12 per liter of sweetened beverages using high fructose corn syrup.
It mandates that, for the first five years of effectivity, programs under RA 10659 or the Sugarcane Industry Development Act will be among the social welfare programs to be funded by 30 percent of TRAIN revenues.
However, the Negros lawmakers said only P3.92 billion had been allocated between 2018 and 2023 for SIDA programs, despite revenues from tax on sweetened beverages comprising 52 percent of the P336.1 billion total revenues, from excises taxes under the TRAIN law in the same period.
“Instead of assuring us of ploughing back revenues from tax on sweetened beverages to strengthen the sugar industry, Secretary Diokno is offering liberalization of sugar importation,” Benitez said.
Benitez fears that liberalizing sugar importation, without adequate support for local sugarcane farmers, will weaken the domestic sugar industry.
“Sugar production this year is projected to decrease due to El Niño and our limited milling capacity. But instead of helping our sugar producers, flooding our market with imported sugar will kill our domestic sugar industry,” he pointed out.
He cited a study commissioned by the National Economic and Development Authority in 2021, which cautioned against sugar trade liberalization, stating that liberalization “would favor the rich more than the poor, and will be at a clear cost to the sugar industry stakeholders.”