Shadow

House to look into sugar importation mess – Kiko

Two House committees will convene Monday to look into the “illegal issuance” by the Sugar Regulatory Administration board of an order granting the importation of 300,00 MT of sugar, Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said Sunday, August 14.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. revoked Sugar Order No .4 last week, saying it was issued without his knowledge or approval.

Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian resigned on Friday amid an ongoing investigation of officials involved in the signing of Sugar Order No. 4.

Benitez said the House committees on good governance and public accountability and agriculture will convene to seek clarifications.

Meanwhile, eight sectoral groups in a joint statement Sunday called for non-political and proper representation of farmers on the Sugar Board and aired their support for the appointment of Aurelio Valderrama as representative of the planters.

The groups also called for the balanced importation of sugar to protect the country’s sugar industry and to ensure adequate supply of sugar in the retail market.

They also called on government to go after the cartel that is manipulating unscrupulous sugar traders.

Government should help farmers raise their production to prevent sugar supply from hitting a critical level, they added.

Mechanization is the answer to the shortage in farm labor, which small farmers cannot afford, they added.

They called for subsidies for small sugar producers like the agrarian reform beneficiaries through tax holidays and discounts.

Government should directly intervene when the prices of gasoline, fertilizer, pesticides and other farm   needs go up, they added.

They also called for a review of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program implementation.

The joint statement was issued by the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino- Negros, Damayan ng Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda, Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement,

National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines, Negroswide Alliance of Transport Corporations, Kaugmaon Negros Oriental and Dagyaw ARB.*

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