Lawmaker: Congress expedites passage of Sugarcane Act

BOTH the House of Representatives and the Senate are now fast-tracking the passage of the Sugarcane Bill authored by Representative Albee Benitez (3rd district, Negros Occidental).

Benitez said on Monday that the Technical Working Committee at the House of Representatives met recently, and that they are looking for the source of the funding requirement of the proposed bill.

The source of fund is usually from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), but the agency observes the One Fund policy, where all taxes are collected first and remitted to it before DBM releases the funds to the concerned requesting agencies.

"We are exploring some sources of funding," Benitez said.

The Sugarcane Bill is being pushed by Benitez to address the problems on the sugar industry, especially when tariff on imported sugar is lifted on 2015.

On the part of the Senate, Senator Francis Escudero, who co-sponsors the proposed bill, said in a press conference Monday that they are also set to tackle the bill when the Senate resumes session on January 21.

He said the bill is now with the committee of Senator Francis Pangilinan.

Escudero also said they will work double-time for the passage of the bill before they end their session on February 6.

For her part, senatorial bet Grace Poe noted that due to the uncontrollable fluctuations in the prices of sugar, Negros should start diversifying.

She pointed out some moves by the local producers, like the Uy family who started diversifying into organic farming which has a significant international market because organic products are very much in demand.