By CESAR JOLITO III
Negros Occidental 3rd District Representative Javier Miguel Benitez rejected claims that a recent congressional hearing triggered the decline in sugar prices, stressing that market oversupply and policy decisions were the primary causes of the downturn.
“Ang hearing nga ila ginabasol, amo ang nagprotekta sa aton,” Benitez said, underscoring that the inquiry aimed to stabilize the industry and support farmers.
He described as “baseless and irresponsible” the allegations circulating online that linked the price drop to the House inquiry, saying the claims reportedly originated from within the Sugar Regulatory Administration (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.
He emphasized that sugar prices are driven by supply and demand, not legislative proceedings.
Citing industry data, Benitez said total physical sugar inventory reached 902,082 metric tons at the start of the October 2025 milling season — an increase of up to 44 percent from the previous year.
Carry-over stocks also rose to 738,633 metric tons, nearly double the ideal buffer level, indicating excessive supply in the market.
Benitez also pointed to Sugar Order No. 8, which allowed the importation of 424,000 metric tons of refined sugar scheduled between July and November 2025 — coinciding with the opening of the domestic milling season.
He noted that Negros sugar industry leaders had recommended a significantly lower volume of 150,000 metric tons.
According to the congressman, the timing and volume of imports contributed to the sharp drop in farm-gate prices, which fell to around P2,000 to P2,200 per 50-kilogram bag by January 2026 — levels below production cost.
“All of this happened before any hearing was announced,” Benitez said, adding that traders halted purchases due to full warehouses rather than developments in Congress.
He maintained that the House hearings conducted in aid of legislation helped establish the basis for the Department of Agriculture to extend the sugar import ban through December 2026, describing the move as critical protection for local producers.
SRA criticized
Meanwhile, labor groups led by the National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines – Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (Nacusip-TUCP) expressed support for Benitez and criticized the SRA over alleged misinformation and lack of transparency.
In a statement, the group, along with allied workers’ and agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organizations, condemned what it called “misinformation and baseless blame-shifting” by the agency.
Nacusip-TUCP renewed its demand for the immediate release of the official minutes of Sugar Order No. 8, series of 2024-2025, stressing that transparency is “non-negotiable” for farmers and workers in the industry.
It also called for the resignation of SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona, planters’ representative David Andrew Sanson, and millers’ representative Raymond Montinola Mangwag, alleging that their continued stay in office has worsened conditions for small farmers and agrarian reform beneficiaries.
“The time for secrecy is over. The time for justice is now,” Nacusip-TUCP said, vowing to continue pushing for accountability and reforms in the sugar sector./CJ, WDJ