• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Himamaylan City Council in Negros Occidental has passed a resolution urgently requesting the government to immediately intervene in the low prices of sugar, stressing that small sugar farmers are bearing the brunt of it.
“That is why we have to act swiftly and immediately,” Vice Mayor Justin Gatuslao said, noting that the main source of local income of the city comes from the sugar industry.
In the resolution passed on Oct. 14, the City Council called on national government agencies such as the Departments of Justice, Agriculture, and Economic Planning and Development, among others, to look into why the prices of sugar have drastically gone down.
Gatuslao, who is the provincial chairman of National Movement of Young Legislators (NMYL), said he shared the sentiments of the Himamaylan City Council to other NMYL members, who assured him that they will adopt a similar resolution in their respective councils.
On Tuesday, 10 lawmakers in Negros Island Region urged the Sugar Regulatory Administration to immediately address and issue a transparent and data-based explanation on the sharp the decline in sugar prices.
Recent reports show the millgate price for sugar has plunged to about P2,200 per 50-kilogram bag, a level nearly P300 below the estimated production cost, the legislators said in a joint statement.
The Negros lawmakers warned that a “price collapse could worsen poverty in rural sugar districts, where more than 60 percent of households depend on sugarcane, as either principal or supplementary income.” | GB
