P5B budget sought for sugar industry, restricted importation in new bill

A bill seeking a P5 billion budget for the sugar industry and restrictions on sugar importation was filed in the House of Representatives.

Negros Occidental 3rd District Rep. Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez made the proposal under House Bill 9088, or Tunay na Ugnayan, Buhay, at Oportunidad sa Asukal (TUBO) Act, a measure which he announced during a LegisHear public consultation in Victorias City in his home province.

Benitez said the measure seeks to address problems exposed by previous sugar importation, strengthen support for farmers, and make government decisions affecting the industry more transparent and firmly anchored on production, inventory, and consumption data.

Benitez said the measure provides that, of the said P5 billion annual budget starting 2027, 30 percent will go to farm-to-mill roads and irrigation while 20 percent will be earmarked for climate adaptation and resilience.

“The bill fixes where it goes, so nobody can quietly move it,” Benitez said.

“This increased funding has become more urgent because of the spread of the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI), which, as of September 1, had affected 134,000 hectares nationwide, including 95,000 hectares in Negros Occidental,” he added.

Likewise, Benitez said the measure provides for an 18-month pause on commercial sugar imports upon effectivity, subject to an exception for verified shortages.

After the said pause, imports would be permitted only when warranted by supply data and would be prohibited during the first three months of the milling season.

Further, the measure sets a trigger allowing imports when verified raw sugar stocks fall below 200,000 tons.

This way, Benitez said importation will only be merit-based instead of a whimsical decision.

“[Because] when an import decision is made by order, without data and without the people who grow the cane, the farmer carries the cost,” Benitez said.

Benitez’s proposal would also require random and unannounced audits of mill laboratories, with penalties including fines, suspension or loss of license for tampering.

In addition, the bill requires sugar orders to be published within 15 days together with votes and dissents, establish a public dashboard tracking the use and beneficiaries of industry funds, and provide for twice-yearly consultations with farmers, workers, agrarian reform beneficiaries, millers and refiners.

Other assistance provided in the measure includes block farming, socialized credit, discounts of up to 30 percent on fertilizer and machinery, emergency cash assistance during pest outbreaks or calamities, temporary relief from loan penalties, price-support purchases, auditable mill measurements, and farm-to-mill infrastructure.

Benitez, however, said the bill is still subject to the feedback of sugar farmers and other stakeholders.

“This bill remains under consideration, and the inputs gathered from sugar farmers and other stakeholders during LegisHear would feed into the work of the technical working group,” he said. —LDF, GMA News