SUGAR industry stakeholders urged anew the country’s economic managers to rescind their proposal to open up the sector after securing the support of lawmakers who opposed it.
Various sugar industry leaders said in a statement on Sunday that the approval of House Resolutions 412 and 430 is another “victory” for them and should convince economic managers to drop the plan of liberalizing the sector.
“This is another victory for the industry following the unanimous opposition of the Senate as well and we thank those who supported our call, particularly the Sugar Bloc and the Makabayan Bloc,” said Tatak Kalamay Convenor David Alba.
Last week, the House Committee on Agriculture and Food approved the two resolutions that opposed the sugar import liberalization, which “would kill the local industry.”
“[The passage of the two resolutions] should send a strong message to our economic managers to cease their call for liberalization, because the Legislative branch which represents people from all walks of life, opposes sugar import liberalization,” said National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) President Enrique Rojas.
During the hearing on the two resolutions, the Department of Finance (DOF) disclosed that it is looking into the implementation of an open tender system for sugar imports in its bid to make the process “more efficient and transparent.”
Finance Assistant Secretary Antonio Joselito Lambino II had said implementing an auction-type importation for sugar is one of the matters under consideration in an ongoing DOF study on how to improve the industry’s efficiency and competitiveness.
Lambino disclosed that the DOF has started a series of study groups to scrutinize the sugar industry and determine areas for improvement.
He cited a need to establish a “simpler and fairer” import permitting system, noting that one of the concerns in the current system is that only a few people decide on the importation of sugar.
Aside from this, Lambino said the current production-sharing agreement between planters and millers merits a review, as it has “[led] to a less efficient milling capacity” in the Philippines. “It seems like incentives are lacking to invest for more efficient milling capacity in the Philippines compared to other countries,” he said.