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Workers battling RSSI.*SRA photoRep. Javier Miguel "Javi" Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) called for a unified and long-term strategy to address the challenges facing the sugar industry after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did not mention the sector in his State of the Nation Address.Benitez said the industry's concerns should be approached by focusing on solutions rather than politics, especially as Negros Occidental continues to battle the spread of the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI)."We have to look at the problems and the solutions and set aside politics," Benitez said in an interview on July 27.He said while the immediate priority is containing the RSSI infestation, stakeholders should also begin discussing long-term reforms and innovations to make the sugar in...

Genrick Humprey Morales of APSU, Arthur Juego of KILUSAN, Roland de la Cruz of NACUSIP, Susanita Tesiorna of ALLWEIS, Cotabato Governor Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza, TUCP President and Deputy Speaker Raymond Democrito Cañete Mendoza, Eli Bautista of PALEA, Tem Dejon OF AWATU and Arturo Basea of FUR (l-r) attended the SONA on Monday.*NACUSIP TUCP photoThe National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (NACUSIP-TUCP) issued a mixed assessment of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA), praising its immediate economic relief measures while criticizing the administration's silence on wage stagnation and ongoing troubles in the sugar sector.NACUSIP-TUCP National President Roland de la Cruz commended the executive branch's directives aimed...

Rep.Javier Miguel Benitez at the SONA.*QUEZON CITY— Leaders from Negros Occidental generally welcomed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA), with many expressing support for his proposals to lower electricity costs, strengthen disaster resilience, and continue economic reforms.Reacting after the SONA on July 27, Deputy Speaker and Bacolod Lone District Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez described the speech as “very grounded,” saying it addressed the issues ordinary Filipinos face every day.“He answered the questions of the people,” Benitez said, pointing to the President’s proposals on electricity prices and other high-impact programs.Benitez particularly backed the proposed amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), saying...

Sugar farm workers in Negros.*Ronnie Baldonado file photoFarm workers, agrarian reform beneficiaries, and small sugarcane farmers in Negros  on Monday, July 27, called on government to ensure that post-SONA economic recovery reaches rural communities, citing persistent poverty, unemployment, and widespread hunger.Speaking in the wake of the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), Joel Pasigado, chairperson of the Tib-ng Obreros Federation, said rural residents have yet to experience meaningful improvements in their daily lives as sugar-dependent communities grapple with overlapping crises. Pasigado noted that these challenges include the spread of the Red Stripe Soft Scale Insect (RSSI), rising production costs, unstable sugar prices, the climate crisis, a...

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. (center) with Sugar Board Member David Andrew Sanson and SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona (right) at the dialog with the Negros mayors and congressmen.*CPG photoAgriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. announced the downloading of ₱235 million in aid to small farmers and for the deployment of more drones to speed up the  urgently needed chemical spraying of sugarcane fields in Negros Occidental  hit by the  Red-Striped Soft Scale Insects (RSSI).Laurel and Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona met with the congressmen and mayors of Negros Occidental, who are alarmed by the widespread RSSI destruction to sugarcane crops, at Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay City on Friday, July 24....