BACOLOD City – Sugar stakeholders in Negros Occidental cautioned Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines Inc. that they will declare “war” if the beverage company would proceed with its plan to switch to using high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in its operations.
Sugar Watch of the Philippines (SWP) secretary general Wennie Sancho said that they were alarmed by Coca-Cola’s surreptitious move in lobbying to lower taxes for beverages that shall pave way for the importation of HFCS.
“We are frustrated by the lack of commitment on the part of country’s economic managers to withdraw their plans for the sugar import liberalization scheme,” he said.
The sugar sector, according to Sancho, is gearing up to strengthen their campaign against the shift to alternative sweetener and all forms of sugar import.
Sancho said this declaration of war against HFCS will be manifested in today’s solidarity forum in this capital city.
“The forum will be attended by 25 labor union presidents in Western Visayas and the officers of SWP,” he said.
There will be a solidarity covenant signing that will officially seal the merger and consolidation of several labor groups, into one solidified labor force to defend the workers in their sugar import liberalization and HFCS, said Sancho.
He explained that when the importation of HFCS becomes destructive for the sugar industry it is the right of the people and the workers to resist and oppose in order to create new guards for their future economic security.
In 2017, several local government units in Negros Occidental have issued Executive Orders to boycott Coca-Cola products during their festivals for using more HFCS than local sugar to its products.
The banning was lifted after the giant beverage company signified to patronize locally produced sugar than the artificial sweetener./PN
