Benitez leads House push to modernize SIDA

By Glazyl M. Jopson

QUEZON CITY — Negros Occidental 3rd District Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez was elected chair of the technical working group tasked with harmonizing and strengthening proposed amendments to Republic Act No. 10659, or the Sugarcane Industry Development Act of 2015.

Quezon 1st District Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga, chair of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food, announced the appointment during the committee’s hearing Tuesday.

Enverga said the TWG is expected to hold its initial briefing in two weeks and will seek to consolidate six bills using Benitez’s House Bill No. 9088, or the Tunay na Ugnayan, Buhay, at Oportunidad sa Asukal Act of 2026, as the proposed mother bill.

He said all members of the agriculture committee, particularly those from areas experiencing pest infestations and a sugar crisis, may attend the discussions.

Enverga acknowledged concerns about proposals to restructure the Sugar Regulatory Administration, which was created through Executive Order No. 18, but assured stakeholders that the committee would address them.

“There may be a need for guidance if we hold the discussion here. We should follow the “one subject” rule for every bill. Regardless, they will all be handled by the committee,” he said.

Benitez filed a bill in May seeking to amend SIDA, which was authored by his father and predecessor, Bacolod Rep. and Deputy Speaker Alfredo “Albee” Benitez.

The proposal seeks to address persistent volatility in sugar production, pricing, and supply, which industry stakeholders have attributed to gaps in regulation, import policies, and program implementation.

It also aims to establish a more responsive, data-driven, and inclusive framework for the sugar industry, which remains a key source of livelihood in rural communities.

Benitez thanked the committee for nominating him and approving his appointment.

“It is a great honor to serve as the TWG chair for the SIDA law. This is one way we can help the sugar industry,” the lawmaker said in a media interview after the hearing.

Benitez said the law has been in place for about 10 years.

“What we want is to amend it so that it becomes more modern and more effective.”

He said the TWG would first review feedback gathered over the past 10 years to determine which provisions have worked and which need improvement.

He said the Department of Agriculture, sugar federations, and the SRA had submitted position papers during the committee hearing.

“We will use these as the basis for our discussions,” he added.

Benitez said his proposed measure would serve as the mother bill, with other bills filed by lawmakers incorporated into a consolidated measure depending on the TWG’s deliberations.

“If there is an agreement to amend the bill without using the mother bill, we welcome that. What is important is that all stakeholders are heard, especially the small farmers,” he added.

Benitez said the TWG discussions should not be confined to Congress.

“We want everyone to be consulted, especially the people of Negros, since the sugar industry is one of the province’s biggest industries. We also want to hear from other sugar-growing areas so we can consolidate the best possible bill for this SIDA measure,” he added.

“We will see how the first TWG meeting goes, but we hope to pass the bill as soon as possible because the law clearly needs amendments,” Benitez said.

Under the legislative process, the consolidated measure must pass the TWG, the committee, the House plenary, and the Senate before being submitted to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for his signature.

“We will do our best to move it forward as quickly as possible,” he said.

Benitez said one common point of agreement was the need to increase appropriations for the sugar industry.

“No one opposes providing more government funding for the industry. At the same time, we want to ensure that our decisions are data-driven. We also want the law to address climate resilience, improved crop varieties, and pest infestations, making sure these concerns are adequately covered,” he said.

Benitez added that the measure should harmonize the roles of the SRA and the SIDA management committee to ensure effective coordination.

He said he would seek clarification from Enverga about the TWG’s scope because he understood that the group would cover only the proposed SIDA amendments.

Although one bill combines proposed amendments to the SRA charter and SIDA, Benitez said he believed it did not violate the legislative rule requiring a bill to embrace only one subject expressed in its title.

He said he would defer to Enverga if the committee chair wanted the TWG to cover both measures.

The proposal would also expand the SRA governing board by adding representatives from sugar millers, planters, refineries, small farmers, agrarian reform beneficiaries, field and mill workers, and industrial users.

It would mandate regular stakeholder consultations and require the publication of industry data and policy decisions to improve transparency.

Enverga suggested that discussions on the SRA charter be handled by the agriculture committee jointly with the House Committee on Government Enterprises and Privatization because the agency falls under the latter committee’s jurisdiction.

“We also recognize that discussing SIDA and the SRA Charter together could cause the issues to become conflated. Our preference is to focus purely on SIDA, while allowing the SRA and SIDA management committees to coordinate with each other,” he said.

Enverga said he hoped lawmakers and stakeholders could quickly reach an agreement and complete the process.

In his speech, Benitez urged the committee to conduct a rigorous and unsparing review of the proposed SIDA amendments.

“Amend them, stress-test them, improve them. The mills open again in a few weeks. Let us not allow another milling season to pass under a law written for a different industry than the one we now have,” he stated.

Benitez noted that Negros produces more than six of every 10 kilograms of sugar in the Philippines.

“When our fields fail, that is not a Negros problem. It is a food security problem, an employment problem, and a rural economy problem for the entire Philippines,” he said.

Meanwhile, Negros Occidental 5th District Rep. Emilio Bernardino Yulo III said it was time to harmonize the measures, particularly because of unexpected developments involving pest management and control in the sugar industry.

Yulo said pest management was not the SRA’s area of expertise and that the agency lacked the capacity to handle the problem effectively.

He said lawmakers must also consider the effects of climate change when reviewing proposed amendments to SIDA.

Former Negros Occidental Gov. Rafael Coscolluela, a consultant for the Confederation of Sugarcane Producers Associations who attended the hearing, stressed the need to carefully study the law’s implementing rules and regulations and clearly define its provisions.