SENATOR Joseph Victor Ejercito is cautious about the plan of Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno to further liberalize the sugar industry, which would require industrial users to import their own requirements to mitigate price increases amid the push to tax sugary foods and beverages.
On Thursday, June 29, various groups of sugar producers appealed to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who concurrently serves as Secretary of Agriculture, to reject proposals to liberalize the sugar industry and widen the importation of the said agricultural product.
The said proposal was intended to soften the impact of new taxes on foods and beverages that contain sugar, Ejercito said.
"I believe that we should take caution in rushing this proposal. Further consultations and dialogues need to take place to address the deluge of complaints from the sugar industry. We must first study all possible implications of this proposal and ensure a win-win solution for all stakeholders," Ejercito pointed out.
He added, “We have yet to see the full implementation of the Sugarcane Industry Development Act and Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act, both of which I principally sponsored during my first term in the Senate.”
Ejercito said that these laws were intended to protect the sugar planters and promote the growth of our local sugar industry. "In fact, we have filed amendments to the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act, aware of new and emerging forms of economic sabotage within the agricultural sector," the senator added.
"I personally think that there is no better time for different sectors to work together to strengthen our sugar industry and our agricultural sector at large. The fact that President Marcos himself has taken on the country’s agricultural portfolio speaks of this administration’s unwavering commitment to our farmers and producers. Rest assured that I am with all of you in realizing our shared vision for the agricultural sector," Ejercito further said.
The United Sugar Producers Federation earlier made an appeal to Marcos to ignore calls to allow industrial users to directly import their sugar needs as a concession to plans to increase taxes on sweetened beverages.
UNIFED president Manuel Lamata said they are “totally against the move of Diokno to liberalize importation in favor of a few industrial users.”
National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) president Enrique Rojas also strongly opposed the direct sugar importation by beverage manufacturers, as this will “destroy the livelihood of thousands of marginal sugarcane farmers, will not result in lower prices of sweetened beverages, and will simply further enrich these companies.”
“Allowing manufacturers of sweetened beverages to directly import sugar will wreak havoc on the long-established government regulations over the sugar industry, and it will further destabilize the livelihood of thousands of marginal sugarcane farmers,” Rojas said in another statement.*