No to sugar liberalization, planters say

By Dolly Yasa

Bacolod City- The United Sugar Producers Federation (UNIFED) asked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to ignore calls of Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno to allow industrial users to directly import their sugar needs as a concession to plans of increasing taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages.

UNIFED President Manuel Lamata on Tuesday said they are “totally against the move of Diokno to liberalize importation in favor of a few industrial users.”

“He (Diokno) wants to further enrich these industrial users even knowing that this move will kill the more than 5 million Filipinos who are dependent on the sugar industry,” Lamata said.

Diokno, he added, is bent only on raising taxes without thinking of its effects on the sugar farmers.

“Is Diokno prepared to give livelihood to these 5 million industry stakeholders? The Finance Secretary is ill-advised,” Lamata said.

Beyond the goal of raising taxes, he added “Diokno should also think of the consumers or the general public who will also be affected as these industrial users will surely pass on the additional taxes to their consumers.”

UNIFED is hoping that the President will not endorse this plan which was never even done in consultation with the sugar industry.

“We know President Marcos’ heart is with and for the farmers as he has told us so, and we are calling for his intervention on this matter,” Lamata said.

“Diokno is clearly anti-farmer,” he added.