SEVERAL groups are asking the government to exclude sugar in the draft executive order on removing administrative constraints and non-tariff barriers on the importation of fish, sugar rice, and meat.
The National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (Nacusip), the Philippine Agricultural Commercial Industrial Workers Union (Paciwu), the Congress of Independent Organizations (CIO), a joint national labor federation in the Philippines representing more than 80,000 workers in the sugar industry of the Philippines, and the UNI Global Union-Philippine Liaison Council (UNI-PLC) representing workers in services, banking sugar, telecommunications, media, transport industries led by their respective leaders stated the workers in the sugar industry most especially the sugar farm workers, farmers, and agrarian reform beneficiaries who are in the frontline of sugar production and whose livelihood solely depends on the viability of the sugar industry, will be most affected in the event that imported cheap sugar will be accepted into the country.
The entry of cheap imported sugar into the Philippine market will cause the drop of the price of sugar which in return will result to low income for our sugar farmers, workers, and agrarian reform beneficiaries who are dependent on high-interest loans to finance their sugar farming operations, the groups said.
“The drop in the price of domestic sugar will not only further impoverished the now impoverish sugar workers and farmers but will also affect the education of their children and the survival of their families,” they added.
They’re asking to “rescue” the sugar workers, their families and their children from the impending disastrous effect of the draft EO on the local sugar industry.