THE NATIONAL Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines – Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (NACUSIP-TUCP) has spoken out on the reinfestation of the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) on Negros Island.
NACUSIP is the country’s largest national federation of sugarcane plantation workers and sugar mill laborers.
In a statement, the federation said the RSSI reinfestation reflects what it described as a catastrophic institutional failure on the part of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to contain the pest.
What does “catastrophic institutional failure” mean?
It goes far beyond ordinary human error. In the case of the SRA, according to NACUSIP, it failed not only to prevent the initial RSSI infestation but also its reinfestation. Worse, it added, the agency has yet to demonstrate sufficient accountability and transparency regarding the utilization of the P206.4 million allocated for anti-RSSI initiatives.
AUDIT, CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRY
Against this backdrop, NACUSIP-TUCP national president Roland de la Cruz made a simple but compelling appeal: the SRA’ s P206.4-million expenditure last year must be subjected to a full independent audit.
According to De la Cruz, despite the mobilization of hundreds of millions of pesos in public funds, there are no clear, measurable, science-based results on the ground.
He said: “The RSSI outbreak remains uncontained, farmers’ yields continue to plunge, and the SRA has failed to deploy a comprehensive program to mitigate the crisis.”
The federation is also calling for an urgent congressional and Senate inquiry into the SRA’s handling of the worsening crisis.
UNGUARDED REVELATION
The P206.4-million figure surfaced during an RSSI orientation held at the Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol on June 23.
According to SRA administrator Pablo Luis Azcona, P177.5 million came from SRA corporate funds, while P28.9 million was sourced from the Sugarcane Industry Development Act (SIDA) Quick Response Fund.
Given that disclosure, Azcona can hardly fault NACUSIP-TUCP, planters’ groups and ordinary Negrenses for demanding an audit.
This was public money intended to address a public crisis. In the interest of transparency and accountability, the SRA should willingly account for every peso spent.
‘FASTER THAN WHAT YOU THINK’
De la Cruz also pointed out that despite the reported expenditure, many small planters and workers have yet to receive tangible assistance, scientific intervention or meaningful field support.
“Farmers themselves asserted that not a single peso of the supposed intervention has reached them. So where did the P206.4 million go?” he asked.
Even more alarming, the infestation continues to spread, threatening thousands of hectares and the livelihood of tens of thousands of sugar workers.
Negros Occidental 5th District’s Rep. Dino Yulo warned that the reinfestation is now moving “faster than what you think.”
According to Yulo, the imported pest multiplies almost fourfold every day. The former SRA official urged immediate action from all levels of government, from the provincial government down to every barangay.
He suggested that barangay agriculture committees immediately survey affected sugar farms and that Governor Bong Lacson head a Task Force RSSI without delay.
REGULATORY BLINDNESS
NACUSIP-TUCP likewise condemned what it described as SRA’s regulatory blindness and failure to heed repeated warnings from planters’ groups and labor unions.
“The RSSI crisis demanded an aggressive, synchronized scientific counter-response, but the SRA delivered nothing but memos and meetings,” De la Cruz argued.
The federation said the consequences are being borne primarily by agricultural workers whose jobs are now at risk as sugarcane fields continue to deteriorate.
“Farmers lose critical income every single harvest,” lamented Elisama Gregorio, chairman of the NACUSIP Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Council.
‘POTENT CURE’
Taken as a whole, NACUSIP-TUCP’s statement carries considerable weight because it speaks for thousands of workers whose livelihoods depend on the sugar industry and who now stand among those most affected by the RSSI reinfestation.
Locally, RSSI is simply called “tigi.” Yet despite its familiar name, the damage has become anything but ordinary.
From 12,332 hectares on June 21, the affected area had expanded to more than 16,000 hectares by June 29, based on SRA data.
Should the agency merely wait for validated reports while the infestation continues to spread? What about immediate intervention? Where are the decisive actions?
Will declaring a state of calamity alone serve as a potent cure?
Press releases and photo opportunities highlighting expressions of support from various sugar groups are no substitute for concrete action.
What industry stakeholders are demanding are clear, effective and lasting solutions.
The SRA must stop wavering and instead pursue a definite, science-based course of action.
Listening carefully to Congressman Yulo’s recommendations, one gets the unmistakable impression that the RSSI reinfestation has gone beyond urgency.
Tigi lang, pero... the SRA must act decisively now. Otherwise, sugar importation may once again become inevitable.
Gets n’yo?/PN
