ASIDE from President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s decision to import only 150,000 metric tons (MT) of sugar, his appointment of a new head of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) and two board members so that it can resume its normal functions is a "step in the right direction."
This was stressed by the leaders of three sugar federations in the country, namely, Enrique Rojas, president of the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP); Raymond Montinola, president of the Confederation of Sugar Producers (Confed); and Danilo Abelita, president of the Panay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers (Panayfed).
“We welcome the new SRA officers and we wish them well. We hope they maintain the consultative nature of decision-making at SRA,” they said.
The sugar leaders expressed hope that the new officials will closely monitor the sugar supply and demand situation.
“Also, to make the necessary decision, including the possibility of additional importation, to ensure stable sugar supply and fair sugar prices for both consumers and producers,” they added.
Marcos, over the weekend, appointed three new officials at the SRA amid its reorganization following the importation controversy on sugar.
The appointees are David John Thaddeus Alba as acting administrator and Pablo Luis Azcona and Ma. Mitzi Mangwag as new Board Members.
They replaced SRA administrator Hermenegildo Serafica, sugar planters' representative Aurelio Gerardo Valderrama Jr. and millers' representative Lawyer Roland Beltran, respectively.
Serafica resigned following the issuance of the controversial Sugar Order (SO) No. 4, which was tagged by the Malacañang as “illegal” while Beltran resigned from his over health reasons.
Valderrama earlier said he will leave it to the President whether he resigns or not.
The three planter federations representing 57.48 percent of sugar production in the country, in a statement, thanked Valderrama and reiterated their “confidence in his integrity.”
“We thank Mr. Valderrama for his forthright and selfless service to the sugar industry during his brief stint in the SRA,”NFSP, Confed and Panayfed said.
They believed that in signing Sugar Order No. 4, Valderrama followed the SRA’s mandate of ensuring stable sugar supply for consumers and maintaining sugar prices fair to both consumers and producers.
“He acted in good faith, and he based his decision on historical and official SRA data, after proper consultations with stakeholders and by following long-established processes of the SRA,” the three federation presidents further said.
They pointed out that the SRA passed Sugar Order No. 4, allowing the importation of 300,000 MT of sugar, to address the country’s looming sugar shortage from August to October when sugar mills are either not yet operational or have just started milling.
During this period, domestic sugar supply relies on stock balances from the previous crop year and from early sugar production, which is not sufficient to cover the average monthly demand, they said.
Their joint statement stated that the shortage was keenly felt by consumers at grocery stores and supermarkets, where retail prices of refined sugar reached an unprecedented P100 per kilo because of the supply shortage.
Even industrial users, like soft drinks manufacturers, and institutional users like bakeries and pastry manufacturers, have been complaining of the lack of sugar supply, it said.
Consultations were conducted with planters’ federations and other producers, and after studying the production figures presented by the SRA, all stakeholders agreed on the need to import 300,000 MT of sugar, it added.