At the annual membership meeting and election of officers of the Confederation of Sugarcane Producers Association Inc. (CONFED) held in Manila on September 18, incumbent officers were unanimously re-elected to another term.
According to a press release, re-elected to their posts are Aurelio Gerardo Valderrama Jr. of The Sugar Association (TSA) as president, Wilfredo Sawit of Central Azucarera de Tarlac Planters Association (CATPA) as vice president for Luzon, Alfonso Gamboa of Associated Planters of Silay-Saravia (APSSI) as VP for Visayas, Pablo Lorenzo III of Associated Bukidnon Sugarcane Farmers (ABSSFI) as VP for Mindanao, Maria Regina Martin of Asociacion de Hacenderos de Silay y Saravia (AHSSI) as board secretary, and Nicolas Ledesma Jr. of First Farmers Association as treasurer.
Also at the annual gathering, and in anticipation of CONFED’s upcoming 40th founding anniversary, two former CONFED presidents were bestowed the Homobono C. Sawit Presidential Award of Leadership. The awardees are Bernardo Trebol and Jose Maria Montinola. The awarding ceremony was witnessed by members of their respective families.
Both awardees were cited as champions of the rights and dignity of sugarcane producers, celebrating their unwavering commitment to the welfare of the Philippine sugar industry in general, and the objectives of CONFED in particular.
Tina Montinola Monfort, daughter of Jose Maria Montinola, in her social media account, recognized CONFED’s shared vision of the sugar industry, marked by “a deep sense of fairness, concern for others, and values that resonate deeply, closest to our hearts and home.”
The late Homobono Sawit, after whom the award is named, was CONFED’s charter president when the federation was created on February 15, 1985.*
