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BY MAE SINGUAY
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Saturday, February 11, 2017
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BACOLOD City – City councilors have asked two soft drink companies to stop using high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
They should make use of sugar produced in Negros Island Region instead, the Sangguniang Panlungsod said.
“Sugar industry advocates revealed that hundreds of thousands of HFCS [sic] have been imported by beverage companies into the country which tremendously pulled down the demand for locally produced sugar,” its resolution read.
“Such move can be considered insensitive and an insult on the part of sugar producers,” it added. “These beverage companies are locally based, yet it seems that they do not patronize what is produced in the area where they are situated.”
The city council made the “urgent” request to the Coca-Cola Femsa Philippines, Inc. and Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines, Inc.
Councilor Caesar Distrito, author of the resolution, stressed that local government officials, sugar industry advocates, and sugarcane plantation workers across Negros Island oppose the use of HFCS.
“All are unified in saying that the entry of the HFCS in the [region] is a threat to the sugar industry,” Distrito said.
While beverage companies provide employment, it cannot be ignored that importing the HFCS will “affect the livelihood of thousands of [Negrenses] who depend so much on the sugar industry,” he said.
Critics claimed there was massive importation and widespread use of the alternative sweetener, causing the local sugar industry to lose billions of pesos in revenue and jobs for farmworkers.
As government’s “partners in development,” beverage companies “should be considerate and uphold the welfare of stakeholders, create a harmonious relationship with them and set aside their interests,” he added.
The Sangguniang Panlungsod approved the resolution on Wednesday, Feb. 8.
Distrito earlier warned about reports saying the HFCS was made from genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.
Ordinances in Negros Occidental and this capital city prohibit the entry of GMOs.
Distrito said the House of Representatives and other concerned agencies must look into this information.
Several lawmakers from sugar-producing provinces in the Philippines — including 10 representatives from Negros Island Region — sought a House inquiry, in aid of legislation, into the “impact of the importation, use and sale of the HFCS in the Philippines on the sustainability of the sugar industry.”
“It is the prime duty of the government to protect the interest of local industries, like the sugar industry, which is considered one of the most important,” Distrito said.
“Any action or assistance on the part of the House of Representatives and the SRA (Sugar Regulatory Administration) is earnestly sought,” he added./PN
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