By CESAR JOLITO III
The Negros Occidental provincial government is facing backlash from a local advocacy group following its decision to accept agricultural assistance from the Israeli government, particularly in addressing a pest infestation plaguing sugarcane farms.
While Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson welcomed the aid, the group Freedom From Colonization – Negros condemned the move in a strongly worded statement issued on July 31.
“Aid, historically, has been used to mask atrocities and sanitize the image of oppressive regimes,” the group said.
“This so-called assistance cannot be divorced from the broader context of violent occupation and systematic starvation in Palestine,” it added.
The criticism came after Israeli Consul Mito Cohen visited Lacson on July 30 to offer help against the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) outbreak in sugarcane, stating that an agricultural expert from Israel is expected to arrive in the province in the coming days to conduct technical assessments.
Cohen also pledged support to the family of a Negrense overseas Filipino worker, who was killed in an Iranian airstrike amid the conflict in Israel.
Freedom From Colonization acknowledged the urgent need to curb the infestation of RSSI in sugarcane, but they warned that partnering with Israel, which it accuses of committing genocide in Gaza, was “a complicit act” that undermines the moral standing of the province.
A question of solidarity
Describing the Israeli offer as “false compassion,” Freedom From Colonization criticized the provincial government’s “enthusiastic welcome” of Consul Cohen, calling it a betrayal of Negros’ own history of land-based violence and exploitation.
“Israel cannot claim concern for Negrosanon agriculture while its military decimates Palestinian farmland,” they added, citing reports that 95 percent of Gaza’s cropland has been rendered unusable by Israeli military action.
The statement also invoked historical and ongoing hunger in Negros, referencing the 1980s famine that sparked outrage over the neglect of impoverished communities in the province.
“Like Palestinians, we, too, have buried too many hungry children,” the group wrote, connecting local suffering to that in Gaza.
They further urged the provincial government to cut diplomatic and technical ties with Israel and formally declare Negros Occidental an “apartheid-free zone.”
As of press time, Lacson has not issued a response to the group’s statements.
It remains unclear whether the province will proceed with the planned engagement with Israeli agricultural experts amid the growing public scrutiny.
The issue has sparked debate across the province, with some residents supporting the practical necessity of the aid, while others question the ethical and political implications of such foreign partnerships./CJ, WDJ