Negros Oriental seeks national aid as sugar pest spreads

By Glazyl M. Jopson

QUEZON CITY — Negros Oriental 2nd District Rep. Ma. Isabel Sagarbarria has appealed for national government assistance as the province grapples with a worsening red-striped soft scale insect infestation that has severely affected its sugar industry.

In a media interview Tuesday, Sagarbarria said the province had yet to receive financial assistance similar to the PHP 235 million allocated by the Department of Agriculture for affected sugarcane farmers in the Visayas and the government’s response to the infestation.

The allocation includes PHP 200 million in emergency cash assistance for an initial list of more than 12,000 small sugar farmers.

The number of beneficiaries could increase to 20,000, with each farmer receiving PHP 10,000.

The package for Negros Occidental includes PHP 35 million for pesticides and drone-assisted spraying operations.

Of the amount, PHP 10 million is intended for chemicals, while PHP 25 million is allocated for drone services.

“It all went to Negros Occidental. That’s why I questioned why none for Negros Oriental?,” Sagarbarria said.

She said several local chief executives had raised the issue because many sugar farmers in her district had also been affected by the infestation.

Bais City has declared a state of calamity after the pest affected about 1,700 hectares of sugarcane plantations.

The infestation has also been reported across Sagarbarria’s district, from Mabinay to Pamplona, excluding Dumaguete City.

“It’s already starting to eat up a lot,” the lawmaker said.

While declining to say whether Negros Oriental had been neglected, Sagarbarria expressed hope that the province would receive the same level of support as Negros Occidental, especially now that both provinces are part of the Negros Island Region.

“I hope they can also give similar attention to Negros Oriental,” she said.

Negros Oriental has been under a state of calamity since July 21 because of the spread of the pest.

The declaration allows the provincial government to use its quick response fund for assistance to affected farmers and pest containment operations.

The provincial government has allocated PHP 15 million from its Quick Response Fund, but Sagarbarria said local resources were insufficient to address the crisis.

“The provincial government can only allocate so much. We also need intervention from the national government,” she said, describing the infestation as a concern that warrants a national response.

The infestation has affected more than 17,000 hectares of the province’s 48,901 hectares of sugarcane plantations.

The red-striped soft scale insect was first detected in the Philippines in 2022.

The pest excretes honeydew that promotes fungal growth, blackens sugarcane leaves, reduces photosynthesis, and can lower crop yields, according to the Sugar Regulatory Administration.

Sagarbarria raised the issue during Tuesday’s hearing of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food, chaired by Quezon 1st District Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga.

Sagarbarria is pushing House Bill No. 3330, which seeks to amend Republic Act No. 10659, or the Sugarcane Industry Development Act of 2015.

The bill seeks to strengthen the use of Sugar Regulatory Administration funds for programs intended to boost sugar production and improve the competitiveness of the milling industry.

It would also give the SRA clearer authority over sugar importation to ensure domestic production is considered and the interests of local sugar farmers are protected.

“With SRA there, the sugar industry is protected,” Sagarbarria said.

The House Committee on Agriculture and Food agreed to create a technical working group headed by Negros Occidental 3rd District Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez.

The group will consolidate six pending measures under Benitez’s proposed House Bill No. 9088, or the Tunay na Ugnayan, Buhay, at Oportunidad sa Asukal Act of 2026.

Known as the TUBO Act, the measure seeks to amend the Sugarcane Industry Development Act and introduce reforms covering sugar policies, imports, farmer protection, climate-resilient investments, and the SRA.