Sugar producers and labor groups on Sunday, May 10, thanked Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito for his decisive “one-two-three” legislative strike aimed at addressing over-importation and revitalizing the struggling sugar industry.
They said in a rare display of legislative speed, Sen. Ejercito filed two resolutions and a landmark bill within just 20 days: • Senate Resolution No. 369 (April 16): Initiating a probe into alleged sugar over-importation. • Senate Resolution No. 380 (May 4): Investigating the underutilization of the Sugar Industry Development Act (SIDA). • Senate Bill No. 2114 / TUBO Act of 2026 (May 6): Proposing comprehensive reforms to modernize mills, protect farmers, and to hike annual SIDA funding to ₱5 Billion.
In a joint statement the Sugar Council, coalition composed of the Confederation of Sugarcane Farmers Inc., the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters, and the Panay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers, and the National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, lauded the senator’s swift response to their mid-April meeting in Bacolod City.
“We thank Sen. Ejercito for his deep understanding of the industry’s dire situation. His decisive action in filing these measures offers a glimmer of hope after the industry lost over ₱12 Billion due to over-importation,” the groups said.
“He ferried out the hard facts and delivered on his promise to champion our cause,” they said
The groups noted that since 2015, SIDA funds intended for development have been chronically underutilized—a delay they describe as “service denied.”
They said that the industry has faced a “double whammy” of restricted local support and aggressive importation, making it impossible for local farmers to compete.
The Sugar Council and NACUSIP-TUCP are now mobilizing support for both Sen. Ejercito’s bill and its House counterpart, HB 9088, filed by Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) as they call for immediate committee hearings to save the livelihoods of thousands of sugar workers.
The proposed TUBO Act (Tunay na Ugnayan, Buhay, at Oportunidad sa Asukal), authored by Benitez, integrates many of the stakeholders’ recommendations, including restructuring the Sugar Regulatory Administration, they said.*
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