The House of Representatives hearing on amendments to the Sugar Industry Development Act (SIDA) may be held in Dumaguete City, Rep. Emilio “Dino” Yulo III (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said Wednesday, August 23.
Rep. Manuel Sagarbarria (Neg. Or., 2nd District) had requested that the hearing be held in Dumaguete and they are willing to accede to the request, he said.
The SIDA hearing may be held after the House of Representatives finishes tackling the major aspects of the 2024 national budget , which is their current priority, he said.
The hearing could also be held during their congressional break, he added.
Yulo stressed the need to concentrate on increasing sugar productivity for the industry to survive.
There should also be widespread dissemination of information on the disadvantages of opening up the sugar industry to liberalization, Yulo added.
A lot of issues are being thrown at the Rice Tariffication Act that is similar to the proposed liberalization of the sugar industry, he pointed out.*