• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Sugar industry stakeholders are rallying behind the amendments sought in the Sugar Industry Development Act (SIDA) of 2015, being pushed in Congress by lawmakers for additional safeguards to protect the industry.
Negros Occidental Third District Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez filed House Bill 9008 or the TUBO (Tunay na Ugnayan Buhay at Oportunidad sa Asukal) Act of 2026.
The proposed legislation aims to strengthen the sugar industry by expanding its mandate and composition of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), rationalizing allocation of the Sugar Industry Development Fund, and institutionalizing systems for trade remedies and climate adaptation.
Senator Juan Victor Ejercito filed a similar bill, with provisions including a proposal to increase its annual funding from P2 billion to P5 billion to boost productivity and modernize farms.
Encouraged by the overwhelming support for its recent manifesto signed by 93 sugar industry leaders from all over the country, the Sugar Council said the TUBO Act of 2026 is seen as a way forward for the sugarcane industry in the wake of the current injurious crisis.
“We want a brand of unity that is not only lip-service, but unity that actually brings advantages to the vast majority,” it said in a statement.
The Sugar Council is a coalition composed of the Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations Inc., National Federation of Sugarcane Planters Inc., and Panay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers Inc.
For its part, the National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry in the Philippines-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (NACUSIP-TUCP) also expressed its support to amend the SIDA 2015.
NACUSIP-TUCP president Roland de la Cruz lauded Benitez for having the courage to stand up and file House Bill 9088, which he described as the much-needed amendment to the SIDA that could spell hope for the struggling industry.
The TUBO Act also proposes restructuring the SRA governing board by adding members from millers, planters, refiners, agrarian reform beneficiaries, workers, and industrial users. | GB
