BAGO CITY -- Senator Cynthia Villar has pledged support to the proposed inquiry pushed by two other senators through a resolution on the importation of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) into the country and its effects to the sugar industry.
“I haven’t seen the resolution yet but anything about the sugar industry, I will support,” said Villar, who was the guest speaker at the Farmer's Day of this city’s the 51st Charter Anniversary Sunday.
Villar added that the sugar industry should utilize the P2-billion yearly budget allocated through the Sugar Regulatory Administration to compete in a liberalized environment.
“The competition is here so they really have to make use of their budget for them to empower their people to be able to produce their products at a lower price that is competitive in the market,” she said.
The P2-billion annual fund is provided in the Sugarcane Industry Development Act. Fifty percent goes to infrastructure while the other 50 percent goes to mechanization and shared facilities, research and development, and scholarship program for agriculture students.
“We passed the law because we foresee that in the age of liberalization, several changes will happen in the market and this P2 billion budget would help the industry survive and compete,” Villar said.
Earlier, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri and Richard Gordon filed a resolution, directing the appropriate Senate committees to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the impact to the domestic sugar industry of the increasing importation of HFCS and the need to review the policies of the government on the importation of the said sweetener to protect the interest of the small farmers, agrarian reform beneficiaries, and the domestic sugar industry.
In her speech at the Farmers’ Day in Bantayan Park, Villar discussed the legislative reforms she is pushing for the agriculture sector to address the concerns of industry stakeholders.
Among her proposed measures in the 17th Congress are the Crop Protection Bill, Development of a Micro Insurance Program, Amendments to the National Food Authority Charter, abolition of National Irrigation Authority fees, Urban Agriculture Bill, and Bill Mandating Local Government Units to allocate a percentage of their development fund to agriculture.
