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ugar Regulatory Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona *“It’s a blatant lie.”This was the reaction of Sugar Regulatory Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona on Sunday, Jan.11, to the statement issued by Wennie Sancho of the Save the Sugar Industry Movement (SAVE-SIM) who claimed the sugar industry may collapse if government implements the sugar import liberalization scheme policy.Azcona, in a press release, said he does not know where Sancho is getting his information or misinformation from or “probably just a figment of his imagination.”However, he cautioned Sancho and others to be more accurate with his/their statements as “others might construe it as true and these types of claims can agitate an already volatile market.”“We, in SRA, have been prudent in our pronouncements as the...

The Panay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers Inc. (PanayFed) and the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) on Sunday, Jan. 11, joined the call for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to urgently heed the proposed solutions to address the sugar crisis.They cited the proposed solutions put forward by the Confederation of Sugar Producers Association Inc. (CONFED) and supported by key industry stakeholders, including the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) and the National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines-TUCP, “to decisively address the deepening crisis in the sugar industry.”BRINK OF COLLAPSE“Mr. President, our sugar industry is collapsing as price, yield, and demand for domestic sugar continues to drop, leaving millers, farmers, planters,...

Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante*The president of the Negros Association of Chief Executives (Negros ACE) said he welcomes the holding of a joint Senate-House of Representatives public consultation on the sugar industry in Negros Occidental on January 23. The consultation will hopefully set the parameters for sugar importation to protect the industry, Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante, Negros ACE president, said on Friday, Jan. 9. It is important for policy to be set to prevent over-importation, he said. Parameters for sugar importation should be institutionalized, Escalante added. The Negros ACE has raised its concern to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., through the Department of Agriculture, over the current drop in sugar millgate prices at the expense of the farmers, while retail prices rem...

Education Secretary Sonny Angara during an ambush interview on Friday .*PNA/Stephanie Sevillano photo Education Secretary Sonny Angara on Friday, Jan. 9, said he will continue to serve in the Department of Education (DepEd) “at the pleasure” of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. amid the rumored revamp of the chief executive’s Cabinet. In an ambush interview, Angara expressed gratitude to the Palace for clarifying the matter. “Hopefully, hindi tayo kasama doon kung meron man (We hope that we’re not included in that if there’s any),” he said. “Of course, we serve at the pleasure of the President." While he has not personally discussed the matter with President Marcos, Angara disclosed that the Office of Executive Secretary told him there is no such plan. The Palace has...

Rep. Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District)*Lawmakers are taking their probe into the "crisis-hit" sugar industry directly to its stakeholders with a joint Senate-House of Representatives public consultation in Negros Occidental on January 23, Rep. Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) announced on Thursday, Jan. 8.The hearing will be led by Rep. Mark Enverga for the House and Sen. Kiko Pangilinan for the Senate, said Benitez, who will be hosting the event.“This follows the resolution I filed calling for a joint House–Senate inquiry on the sugar industry,” he said.“This is a very important time for our farmers' voices to be heard and for all of us to help the sugarcane industry,” Benitez said.“The sugar industry is in crisis. Precipitous...

The National Federation of Sugarcane Planters and labor groups on Thursday, Jan. 8, called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s intervention to address the plummeting millgate sugar prices.NFSP and the National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (NACUSIP-TUCP), the Philippine Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial Workers Union (PACIWU), the Congress of Independent Organizations (CIO-UNI) and the NACUSIP Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Council said they support the Confederation of Sugar Producers Association’s (Confed) proposed measures to arrest the further decline of sugar and molasses prices.“It has come to the point that sugarcane farmers are seriously considering abandoning sugarcane cultivation because of unprofitable millgate prices this crop year,” NFSP...

Negros Occidental’s new online jobs portal is receiving a positive response, with 31 employers posting 86 vacancies and nearly 4,700 active jobseekers registered since its December launch.Provincial Public Employment Services Office manager Karen Dinsay said Thursday, Jan. 8, the Negros jobs portal is easy to navigate and accessible for both employers and applicants.“They said the portal is very easy to navigate for both the employers and the applicants. It is very accessible,” Dinsay said, adding more companies are expected to join.The portal has already facilitated seven successful hires. Jan Roland Broce, 27, of La Carlota City, was the first, landing a job as a business development officer in December.“After I scanned the QR code, I found the portal easy to navigate. I ...