The Confederation of Sugar Producers Association Inc. supports the unified position paper of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) that recommends a 12-to-18-month moratorium on wage increases in Negros Occidental, CONFED President Aurelio Gerardo J. Valderrama Jr. said on Monday, Oct. 26.
The moratorium aims to prevent mass enterprise collapse and safeguard employee tenure amid the state of calamity declared due to an agricultural catastrophe caused by the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI), frequent power outages, and prohibitive fuel costs, he said.
He said they submitted their position paper to the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board (RTWPB), the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC), and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) secretary as early as Oct. 7.
The Western Visayas wage board on Oct. 21 approved a ₱40 to ₱45 daily minimum wage increase for private-sector workers across Western Visayas, Negros Occidental, and Bacolod City. RTWPB-6 Chairman Sixto Rodriguez Jr. said Saturday that the hike remains subject to the approval of the DOLE secretary.
“We base our urgent call for a wage slowdown on the following undeniable economic and physical realities currently impacting Negros Occidental,” the unified position paper stated.
The group pointed out that the RSSI infestation on sugarlands is an asset-destruction event rather than a temporary slump, costing ₱17.5 billion in lost revenue. Data from the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) confirms that the insect has severely infested 61,242 hectares—or 32.18 percent—of the province’s sugarcane lands, it said.
This translates to a staggering ₱17.5 billion gross provincial revenue loss that has evaporated overnight, the position paper added.
It also said because Negros Occidental is under a State of Calamity, a mandatory government price freeze on basic necessities and prime commodities is currently in effect.
Unlike other crises where commercial businesses can gradually increase consumer prices to absorb wage shocks, local enterprises are legally prohibited from passing on added costs.
As a result, management is forced to absorb 100 percent of the financial damage internally, the paper explained.
This situation heavily impacts 95 percent of the chamber’s members, who are mostly small and medium enterprises (SMEs) relying heavily on the viability of the agricultural and agro-industrial sectors.
“We have already reached an economic saturation point. Our businesses just recently absorbed a massive ₱37 to ₱40 daily minimum wage hike less than a year ago. Our payroll systems have not yet fully stabilized from that adjustment. Pushing for further mandates now ignores the reality that labor costs have reached their tolerable threshold,” the position paper stated, warning that forced wage hikes will lead to immediate downscaling, shift cuts, and operational closures.
The paper also underscored that recent power outages have disrupted manufacturing and reduced overall productivity, even as employers remain obligated to pay full daily wages. Additionally, outages have forced SME manufacturers to rely on diesel generators, driving up operational costs due to high fuel prices.*
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