By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Following a statement by Department of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol saying consultations with major beverage companies, like Coca-Cola and Pepsi, were not conducted before Sugar Order No. 3 was enacted, SRA Anna Rosario Paner contradicted the claim and said they complete all “necessary consultations.”
Piñol has since requested President Rodrigo Duterte to suspend the order.
“There’s a problem with Sugar Order No. 3 by the SRA because it regulates the importation of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which Coca-Cola uses in producing its soft drinks,” he explained. “Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola appealed to me, saying they were not properly consulted.”
Paner claims to have received 36 letters and position papers during the consultations. While she did not specify if any were directly from the beverage manufacturers, she did suggest explaining SRA’s side to the agriculture secretary before an audience.
Meanwhile, Piñol said regulating HFCS could be a “sore point” in trade with China, which drew backlash.
Labor leader Wennie Sancho, convenor of the Save the Sugar Industry Movement (SAVE-SIM), said they “strongly denounce the statement” and, by suspending the order, “[it] will open the flood gates of HFCS importation, which is detrimental to the sugar industry.”
“The decline in the mill gate price of sugar could be attributed to the increased entry of HFCS last year,” he explained.
Sancho also questioned who Piñol is trying to protect, the people or multinational corporations.
The labor leader called the order the “only mechanism” in regulating HFCS and claimed the agriculture secretary was overstepping his jurisdiction, saying, “It is not within the power of Piñol to suspend Sugar Order No. 3, he should not usurp the power of the SRA administrator.”
Hernani Braza of the National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (NACUSIP) declared his group’s support for the order and lambasted the agriculture secretary, calling his actions “inhumane.”
“Piñol should be declared persona non-grata for his inhumane acts against the sugar industry,” he stated.
Former SRA chief Rafael Coscolluela believes the issue should be settled in court, while Negros Occidental Vice Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said, “[Piñol] should respect the process for the rule of law.”
Piñol said he would convene the SRA Board on March 23 to discuss HFCS importation and the possible suspension of the order./WDJ