• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson yesterday disagreed with the opinion of Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin that “there is no need for a sugar order in the importation of sugar,” stressing that unabated sugar importation will hit Negros like a “tsunami”.
Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros disclosed on Tuesday that the opinion of Bersamin that sugar order not needed to import sugar is not acceptable for her, as she pointed out that it will cause the unabated entry, not only of imported sugar, but also other agricultural products.
Sharing the stand of Hontiveros, Lacson said “as a province, we do not agree with that.”
“I think it’s really the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) who should regulate the importation,” he stressed.
Lacson added that it will definitely affect the farm gate price, as he predicted that there will not even be buyers of locally produced sugar, because “we can import and sell sugar here,” Lacson said
“It will be like a Tsunami hitting us,” the governor said.
“If that’s the opinion of the executive secretary, I expect the sugar leaders to go against that,” Lacson said.
On Tuesday, Hontiveros said she will push for more hearings on the issue of sugar smuggling, which she exposed in previous months, following the importation of 440,000 metric tons of sugar, based on Sugar Order No. 6 issued by the Sugar Regulatory Administration.
Hontiveros had earlier flagged what she called the “government-sponsored” smuggling of sugar, following the issuance of SO 6.*
