THIRD district Representative Alfredo Benitez of Negros Occidental has remained optimistic that the issue on the entry of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in the country will be settled soon.
He said the Senate hearing last week on the impact of rising importation of HFCS went "very well and it was very cordial."
While the boycott on Coca-Cola products for the beverage firm's alleged use of HFCS as alternative sweetener is still ongoing, the lawmaker said he remains positive that it will be withdrawn soon.
He said Coca-Cola Femsa Philippines and the sugar industry leaders have agreed to come up with a "win-win solution" that is acceptable to both parties.
"What we want is an arrangement with Coke that they will prioritize locally-produced sugar," he said.
What's more important is that the beverage giant recognizes Sugar Regulatory Administration's sugar order regulating the importation of HFCS, he added.
Coca-Cola Femsa Philippines executives said the firm is utilizing 100 percent local sugar in its bottling plant in Bacolod City.
Meanwhile, a labor leader in Negros Occidental continued his call to boycott Coke products.
Wennie Sancho, secretary-general of General Alliance of Workers Association (Gawa), said that Coca-Cola is "synonymous to greed" as the beverage giant has "no social corporate responsibility."
He added that they will not allow the passage of Coke vehicles in controlled lands of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs).
Sancho, a lead convenor of Save-Sugar Industry Movement (Save-SIM), said his group believes that the beverage firm is engaged in strategies to evade the issue on HFCS importation.
"Their plan to expand is another scheme to mislead us by creating opportunities for employment. These are smoke screens that will hide their real motive, which is to obey the command of their multinational overlords in the fulfillment of their corporate greed," Sancho said.
"If the downward sugar prices cannot be stopped, the imminent collapse of the sugar industry is in the offing, the economic disaster that we dreaded most will take place at the expense of the sugar industry stakeholders particularly the workers, small farmers, and ARBs," he said.
Right now, Coca-Cola's expanded production line worth P850 million, or 17 million US dollars, in the Bacolod plant is expected to be completed in June this year. It is expected to double the production of 1.2 million bottles a day.