Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson has launched an emergency biosecurity task force to combat a massive pest infestation that has already crippled over 32 percent of the province’s vital sugarcane fields.
Negros Occidental is currently under a state of calamity due to the massive RSSI infestation.
Lacson issued Executive Order No. 26-12 on Tuesday, July 7, to orchestrate an immediate containment strategy against the Red-Striped Soft Scale Insect (RSSI), an agricultural threat now jeopardizing the province’s economic backbone.
The Provincial Biosecurity Task Force for Agriculture to combat the Red-Striped Soft Scale Insect (RSSI) and other biological threats will strengthen coordination, containment, control, and management across affected plantations, Lacson said.
A Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) report dated July 3 revealed the massive scale of the crisis, showing that the RSSI has hit 88,872.05 hectares of sugarcane lands.
The bulk of the damage is concentrated in the Negros Island Region (NIR), spanning 78,367 hectares—or 32.76 percent of the region’s total sugarlands.
Other sugarcane zones have also recorded damage, including 27.76 hectares in Region VI, 15.01 hectares in Region VII, and 32.58 hectares in Region VIII, according to the SRA.
Lacson said the creation of the Provincial Biosecurity Task Force for Agriculture was spurred by the rapid, significant spike in infestations.
Major industry stakeholders—including the SRA, the United Federation of Sugar Producers Federation (UNIFED), the Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations Inc. (CONFED), and the Philippine Sugar Research Institute Foundation Inc.—had collectively appealed to the provincial government for immediate intervention.
As of June 30, approximately 61,242 hectares in Negros Occidental alone have been affected. This represents about 32.18 percent of the total sugarcane area planted for Crop Year 2025-2026, with outbreaks already reported in 277 barangays across the province, Lacson said.
Negros Occidental produces 61 percent of the Philippines’ total sugar supply.
“Considering the rapid spread of the infestation, which, if left unabated, will pose a serious threat to the sugar industry, there is an urgent need to create a task force to implement a unified action plan for the containment, control, and rehabilitation of RSSI and other biological pest-infested plantations, thereby strengthening biosecurity for crops within the province,” Lacson said.
The executive order is designed to complement existing national biosecurity policies, protocols, and regulations by streamlining local coordination and accelerating field implementation, the governor added.
The newly formed task force will be chaired by Lacson, with Board Member Andrew Montelibano, SP chairman of the Committee on the Environment, serving as vice chairperson.*
[sibwp_form id=1]