• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (NACUSIP-TUCP) has called on local government leaders in Negros Island to exercise fiscal prudence in responding to the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) infestation.
The labor federation urged them to prioritize direct financial assistance for affected farmers and workers while abandoning what it described as ineffective aerial spraying campaigns.
In an open letter, NACUSIP national president Roland de la Cruz lauded Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for placing the province under a state of calamity, a move that enabled the release of the quick response fund to contain the spread of the pest.
They also praised Negros Oriental Governor Manuel Sagarbarria for creating a provincial task force to address the infestation and appealed to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to expedite the declaration of a province-wide state of calamity to unlock additional emergency resources.
Citing the report of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), it said the RSSI infestation has already affected more than 78,000 hectares of sugarcane plantations across Negros Island.
This indicated that 61,242 hectares in Negros Occidental, or about 32.18 percent of the province’s 190,314.19 hectares of sugarcane land, have been infested.
In Negros Oriental, 16,970 hectares, representing approximately 34.7 percent of the province’s 48,901.43 hectares of sugarcane farms, have also been affected.
De la Cruz warned that the infestation threatens the livelihood of thousands of sugarcane farmers, agrarian reform beneficiaries who have become sugar planters, as well as plantation and mill workers, citing reports that crop losses could reach as much as 50 percent.
NACUSIP-TUCP urged the provincial governments to channel calamity funds directly to affected farmers and workers through cash assistance and crop subsidies rather than allowing the funds to be delayed by administrative processes.
“Our farmworkers cannot afford to wait while the infestation continues to destroy their livelihoods,” De la Cruz said. “Emergency assistance must reach the people working the fields as quickly as possible.”
The labor group also called on local governments and the SRA to discontinue aerial and drone-based chemical spraying operations, arguing that these have been proven ineffective because the RSSI feeds on the underside of sugarcane leaves, making overhead spraying incapable of reaching the insects.
Instead, NACUSIP-TUCP advocated for science-based and environmentally responsible control measures, including biological pest management and manual targeted spraying, which it said would provide a more effective and sustainable response to the infestation. | GPB
