Congress leaders led by Deputy Speaker Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez convened sugar industry representatives to discuss a draft Presidential Executive Order Constituting the Sugar Industry Pest and Disaster Management Task Force, “to provide leadership and direction in the fight against RSSI and other natural calamities besetting the sugar industry”.
Aurelio “Bodie” Valderrama Jr., President of the Confederation of Sugar Producers’ Associations (CONFED), in a press release today, expressed satisfaction over the positive outcome of the conference, noting that the passage of the Executive Order would mark a major step forward in responding to calls for a concerted nationwide anti-RSSI program.
Two days after, on Thursday, September 24, CONFED together with the National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (NACUSIP)), met over lunch at the office of Agriculture Secretary Francisco “Kiko” Tiu-Laurel to follow through on The Sugar Council’s proposed “Agenda for Sugar Industry Survival and Reform”, he said.
Tiu-Laurel, Sec. Philip Lo – Presidential Assistant for the Visayas, and SRA Administrator Pablo Azcona discussed the proposed measures to address the sugar crisis and alleviate the plight of distressed producers, millers and laborers, cited by the council as suffering from “a perfect storm” threatening the industry’s future, Valderrama said.
The discussions focused on four major areas of concern – competition from imports of refined sugar, sugar substitutes and finished sugar-sweetened beverages; the need for institutional, policy and marketing reforms; measures to promote mill sector efficiency improvement; and programs to enhance farmproductivity and farmer viability.
Tiu-Laurel agreed to convene and finance a stakeholders’ workshop at the earliest possible time to map out survival strategies and programs and their implementing mechanisms, the CONFED press release said.
He also outlined DA assistance programs for farmers, such as solar irrigation and water impounding systems, fuel subsidy for farm machinery operations, and support for laboratories to fast-track production of RSSI biocontrol agents, subject to submission of specific proposals from qualified organizations, it added.
“We were elated over the productive and conciliatory meeting with Sec. Tiu-Laurel and Adm. Azcona,” Valderrama said, “within the framework of seeking concrete solutions for the good of the industry. We thank Sec. Tiu-Laurel, Sec. Lo, and Adm. Azcona for making this possible,” Valderrama said.
Roland de la Cruz, NACUSIP national President, added that “fruitful dialog can now move forward into actual action that will help us resolve the many issues hounding the industry.”*
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