The president of the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) on Tuesday, July 21, condemned what he called a smear campaign against Aurelio Gerardo J. Valderrama Jr., president of the Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations (CONFED).
“Industry stakeholders know that Mr. Valderrama, as president of CONFED and as a key member of the Sugar Council to which NFSP also belongs, has been very vocal in criticizing erroneous sugar policies, particularly on sugar importation, which has caused billions in losses to sugar farmers. This smear campaign apparently aims to discredit and silence Mr. Valderrama,” NFSP president Enrique D. Rojas said in a press release.
Rojas issued the statement after media reports surfaced about a group of workers accusing Valderrama of labor-related violations.
Twenty-eight agricultural workers have filed a complaint before the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Bacolod City against Valderrama for alleged labor law violations, their lawyer Clarence Gordoncillo said at a press conference in Bacolod City on Saturday, July 18.
The workers, who stated they have been employed by Valderrama at Hacienda Lolita in Barangay Luna, Cadiz City for decades, alleged that their rights to just wages and benefits were violated.
The workers also provided the media with a copy of a letter sent to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., detailing their grievances against Valderrama.
In the letter, the workers claimed that despite several decades of service, they were repaid with human rights violations. They informed Laurel that they endured underpayment of wages and benefits, did not receive their “carabao share,” and were denied their 3 percent share of the Sugar Amelioration Bonus (SAB).
The legal counsel of Valderrama, in a statement released Saturday, said the claims against the CONFED president of not paying his workers their legally mandated benefits are “a false, if not malicious, accusation.”
Valderrama has presented pertinent records before the DOLE that debunked the workers’ allegations, the statement said.
“After the workers realized that they cannot question the documents legally, they resorted to social media, hoping that they can pressure Mr. Valderrama into submitting to unreasonable and baseless demands. What they cannot do legally, they try to achieve by mudslinging and media pressure tactics. As Mr. Valderrama has stated, his conscience is clear and he will not bow to any such coercion,” Valderrama’s counsel stated.
The lawyer added, “The DOLE will conduct an inspection of the farms, including payrolls, time records, etc. The office of Mr. Valderrama has nothing to hide. This inspection will vindicate Mr. Valderrama and prove that he did not cheat the workers. His personal and foundational principle is, and has always been: a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s labor.”
Rojas pointed out that the DOLE is the appropriate venue to settle labor-related disputes, and that the manner in which the allegations were publicized—a well-orchestrated, highly funded press conference at a fancy restobar, spearheaded by radical, left-leaning groups—speaks of malicious intent to personally attack a vocal critic.
“There is no place for such dirty tactics in a civilized society. Whatever concerns are raised regarding official policies should be addressed point-by-point intelligently by the concerned officials in the spirit of transparency and accountability, without resorting to personal attacks through whatever pretext,” Rojas said.*
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