THE National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines–Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (Nacusip-TUCP), alongside allied workers’ groups and agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organizations, expressed strong support for Negros Occidental Third District Representative Javier Miguel Benitez in denouncing the Sugar Regulatory Administration’s (SRA) alleged campaign of misinformation.
“For the nth time, we demand the immediate release of the official minutes of Sugar Order 8, Series of 2024–2025. The SRA’s secrecy is a betrayal of the farmers and workers who keep this industry alive. Transparency is non-negotiable,” Nacusip-TUCP National President Roland de la Cruz said.
The group reiterated its call for the resignation of SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona, Planters’ Representative David Andrew Sanson, and Millers’ Representative Ma. Mitzi Mangwag.
“Their continued presence on the Sugar Board has fueled poverty and injustice among small farm tillers and agrarian reform beneficiaries. They must pack their bags and leave SRA,” de la Cruz said.
De la Cruz said the sugar industry belongs to the workers in the fields and the farmers who till the land, not to bureaucrats who hide behind closed doors.
He said Nacusip-TUCP and its allies will not relent until those who are accountable, transparent, and committed to justice lead the sugar sector.
“The time for secrecy is over. The time for justice is now,” de la Cruz said.
Benitez earlier denied claims that the congressional hearing triggered the decline in sugar prices, saying the market downturn resulted from oversupply and policy decisions rather than legislative oversight.
Benitez described the allegations as baseless and irresponsible, noting that the accusations allegedly originated from within the SRA.
“Rather than answer for the oversupply it authorized, the SRA would rather point the finger at the institution that chose to investigate it,” Benitez said.
Benitez said supply and demand determine sugar prices, not hearings.
He cited data showing that at the start of the October 2025 milling season, total physical sugar inventory reached 902,082 metric tons, a 44 percent increase from the previous year. Carry-over stocks stood at 738,633 metric tons, nearly double the ideal buffer level.
Benitez said these conditions reflected an excessive supply already in the market.
He also pointed to Sugar Order 8, which authorized the importation of 424,000 metric tons of refined sugar scheduled to arrive between July and November 2025, coinciding with the opening of domestic milling.
Negros sugar leaders had recommended only 150,000 metric tons.
Benitez said the timing and volume of imports contributed to the sharp drop in farm-gate prices, which fell to between 2,000 pesos and 2,200 pesos per 50-kilogram bag by January 2026, below production costs.
“All of this happened before any hearing was announced,” Benitez said, adding that commodity prices respond to actual market conditions, not congressional inquiries.
Benitez said traders stopped purchasing because warehouses were already full, not because of new information from the House.
He said the hearings conducted in aid of legislation helped build the basis for the Department of Agriculture’s extension of the sugar import ban through December 2026. He described the moratorium as vital protection for local producers.
“The hearing they are blaming is actually what protected us,” Benitez said, adding that Congress acted to address instability in the industry and stand by farmers. (MAP)
