Tag: National Congress and Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines

Labor unions lead signature drive vs. sugar import liberalization

BACOLOD CITY — The National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (Nacusip) is leading a nationwide campaign that aims to gather one million signatures to strongly oppose the proposed liberalization of sugar imports.

Nacusip national president Roland De la Cruz said in a telephone interview on Monday that the signature campaign is an initiative of the workers’ unions to protect the sugar industry.

“This is not just about the sugar industry of Negros Occidental, but the sugar industry of the Philippines as a whole,” the labor leader said.


National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines national president Roland De la Cruz (seated, right) and officials of allied labor organizations launch the signature campaign strongly opposing the proposed liberalization of sugar imports in Bacolod City on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019.
Contributed photo

This is the result of the various efforts of the industry sectors after the Sugar Summit spearheaded by the Sugar Regulatory Administration and the Department of Agriculture earlier this month, he added.

De la Cruz and officials of the Philippine Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Workers Union (Paciwu), Congress of Independent Organizations (CIO), and Fraternal Labor Organizations (FLO) launched the campaign in a gathering held in this city on Saturday.

They were the first signatories to the open letter addressed to President Rodrigo Duterte, which they dubbed as a call and appeal from the workers, citizens, and families who are dependent on the sugar industry.

“We hope the President will get the pulse of the industry before finally deciding on the proposal. There is a big chain of interconnectivity here,  if the sugar industry gets killed, everything else will follow,” de la Cruz said.

He added that their action is not just confined in Negros Occidental, the country’s top sugar producer, since the industry also includes other regions in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.  

De la Cruz said that in Bacolod, they launched the English and Hiligaynon versions of the open letter, and they will soon come up with a Tagalog version.

“We are looking that after three months, we can submit the open letter to the President along with the signatures we have gathered,” he added.

In the open letter, they called on the government and the President “to junk and totally discard the proposal to liberalize the importation of sugar.” 

They pointed out that “unrestricted sugar importation” will “cause closures of sugar mills, massive dislocation and retrenchment of workers, and widespread unemployment of workers and farmers.” 

“The entry of imported cheap sugar from abroad with regulation and safety nets will destroy the sugar industry, our economy and the future of our children as well as the welfare of all the citizens of this province and of the whole country,” they added.

“We represent the workers and the citizens who are directly and indirectly dependent on the sugar industry, those who are working in the sugar mills, sugar farms and to those families who will be affected by the liberalization of sugar imports,” the groups further said.

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno earlier said that while the planned liberalization of sugar imports would negatively affect local producers, this would benefit a greater number of consumers.

He added that the plan to import some 200,000 metric tons of sugar seeks to address the elevated domestic inflation rate last year caused by supply-side factors, such as the lack of supply of rice, meat, and several other agricultural products. (PNA)

Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1062879

Workers’ groups launch manifesto vs. sugar import liberalization

BACOLOD CITY — Three labor groups launched a manifesto expressing their opposition to the liberalization of sugar imports, a proposal that has been met with protests by sugar industry stakeholders in Negros Occidental since last month.

The position paper, titled “The Karga-Tapas Manifesto”, was signed by leaders of the General Alliance of Workers Associations (GAWA), Philippine Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Workers Union -Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (Paciwu-TUCP), and National Congress and Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (NACUSIP) in a forum held at the Geocadin Building in this city on Monday.

Karga-Tapas is Hiligaynon for a farm worker whose job is to cut and haul sugarcane.


Wennie Sancho (2nd from left), secretary general of General Alliance of Workers Associations, and Hernane Braza, (2nd from right), national president of Philippine Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Workers Union-Trade Union of Congress of the Philippines, lead the signing of the “The Karga-Tapas Manifesto” opposing the proposal to liberalize the importation of sugar in Bacolod City on Monday, Feb. 4, 2019.
Photo by Erwin P. Nicavera

“If this plan will materialize, it will obliterate our local industry that would result into severe economic dislocation of thousands of sugar farmers and workers. The economic disaster that would occur would be unparalleled in the history of our province,” the labor groups said in the manifesto.

Negros Occidental, considered the country’s sugar capital, produces close to 60 percent of the Philippines’ sugar output.

GAWA secretary general Wennie Sancho said the position paper is in reaction to the pronouncement of Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno to “relax” the rules or deregulate the importation of sugar.

Sancho signed the manifesto together with Paciwu-TUCP national president Hernane Braza and NACUSIP national director Jun de la Cruz.

Both Sancho and Braza are also labor sector representatives to the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board – Western Visayas.

According to the labor groups, the economic managers need to consider the implications of the sugar import liberalization scheme, as it would come “at the cost of the economic well-being of the people.”

Copies of the manifesto will be furnished to Sugar Regulatory Administration chief Hermenegildo Serafica and two members of the Sugar Board, representing the planters and the millers, to be presented during the Sugar Summit in Manila on February 11.

Last week, Diokno said while the planned liberalization of sugar imports would negatively affect local producers, this would benefit a greater number of consumers.

“There are more consumers than sugar producers,” he told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

The plan to import some 200,000 metric tons of sugar seeks to address the elevated domestic inflation rate, whose upticks last year was caused by supply-side factors, such as the lack of supply of rice, meat, and several agricultural products, Diokno said. (PNA)

Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1061018