The Sangguniang Panlalawigan has declared the entire Negros Occidental under a state of calamity today, June 30, due to the outbreak and continuing spread of the Red-Striped Soft Scale Insect (RSSI) affecting sugarcane plantations.
The approval was in response to Resolution No. 5 of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) recommending the declaration submitted by Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson on June 26, Board Member Marxlen de la Cruz said.
The entire province of Negros Occidental had been placed under a state of calamity due to Tropical Storm “Crising” and RSSI outbreak affecting sugarcane plantations in July 2025.
The governor deemed the issuance of a new declaration to no longer include Tropical Storm “Crising”.
The PDRRMC formally recommended that the SP place the entire province of Negros Occidental under a State of Calamity due to the worsening outbreak of the Red-Striped Soft Scale Insect (RSSI), an invasive pest threatening the province’s vital sugar industry.
It said that a situational report from the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist and the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) showed that the RSSI infestation has reached critical levels.
Out of the province’s total 190,314.19 hectares of sugarcane land, approximately 61,242 hectares—or 32.18 percent—have been affected, the PDRRMC said.
The pest, scientifically known as Pulvinaria tenuivalvata, extracts sap from the sugarcane and promotes the growth of sooty mold, which significantly reduces crop vigor, sugar yield, and overall productivity, directly jeopardizing the livelihoods of thousands of farmers and agricultural workers.
The council said the declaration is based on the guidelines set by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Memorandum Order No. 60, series of 2019. Under these protocols, a local government unit qualifies for a State of Calamity declaration if at least 30 percent of the means of livelihood in the agricultural sector are affected.
By surpassing this threshold, the province meets the criteria required to trigger emergency measures, facilitating necessary government intervention to prevent further economic losses and irreversible damage to the agricultural economy, it said.
A declaration of a State of Calamity will grant the provincial government access to emergency funds, enable the implementation of price control measures, and expedite recovery and rehabilitation efforts.
Furthermore, the move aims to strengthen inter-agency coordination among the SRA, the Department of Agriculture, and other relevant bodies to enforce strict quarantine, surveillance, and information campaigns.*
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