Rep. 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 industry more resilient.
“Instead of being reactive, we need to be proactive,” he said.
Benitez noted that the RSSI problem has been affecting the industry for about two years and is believed to have entered Negros through contaminated planting materials from Luzon, although authorities are still determining its exact origin.
He said surveillance and monitoring should be strengthened by involving local government units, particularly their agriculture offices, so infestations can be tracked and addressed in real time.
“We need proper mechanisms so that in real time, we can already address it and not wait one year later before the situation becomes this serious,” he said.
Benitez also pushed for better data gathering from both large and small sugar farmers to allow government agencies to implement more targeted interventions.
He said Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. and several sugar industry federations agree that the immediate priority is to stop the spread of the pest before pursuing other long-term solutions.
“We need to arrest the RSSI first. Then we can talk about other alternative solutions,” he said, adding that the Department of Agriculture and the Sugar Regulatory Administration should lead those efforts.
The lawmaker also called for what he described as a “whole-of-province approach,” saying all stakeholders, including planters, farmers, industry groups, local governments and national agencies, should work together instead of issuing conflicting statements.
“It seems the discussion has become divisive because of different statements. We need to sit at one table and come up with solutions,” Benitez said.
His remarks comes as government agencies intensify efforts to contain the RSSI outbreak, which has become one of the biggest threats to the country’s sugar industry.
The Department of Agriculture and the Sugar Regulatory Administration recently launched expanded drone-assisted spraying, chemical treatment, financial assistance and biological control measures, while developing a geotagging system that allows local governments to report infestations in real time.
The RSSI infestation has spread across thousands of hectares of sugarcane farms in Negros Island, prompting calls from industry groups to strengthen the inter-agency task force and involve local Governments more actively in surveillance and response efforts.*
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