BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Sugar industry stakeholders and Negros Occidental officials appealed to President Duterte to intervene in the proposed sugar import liberalization, which they said would lead to the collapse of the industry.
About 300,000 sugar and mill workers would be out of jobs, including small and medium sugarcane growers, the General Alliance of Workers Association (GAWA) said yesterday.
People who are dependent on sugar alone would be forced to sell or abandon their lands in Negros Occidental if the sugar import liberalization pushes through, according to GAWA secretary general Wennie Sancho.
For their part, the Negros Occidental Sagguniang Panlalawigan and Bacolod City Sangguniang Panlungsod approved resolutions expressing their opposition to the move to deregulate sugar importation in a bid to moderate the prices of sugar.