The Sugar Council, NACUSIP, DALO Welcome First Lady’s Intervention, Backs Sugar Board Revamp Amid SRA Failures

The Sugar Council—the dominant majority coalition of independent sugarcane producers representing CONFED, NFSP, and PANAYFED—in collaboration with NACUSIP and DALO, pledge its full participation in the newly created National Anti-RSSI (Red-Striped Soft Scale Insect) Ad Hoc Committee, in the hope that this committee will finally provide solutions to one of the worsening problems of the sugar industry.

The creation of this ad hoc committee is a direct testament to the Sugar Regulatory Administration’s (SRA) continuing failure to control the devastating RSSI pest infestation and other issues besetting the industry.

We extend our deepest appreciation to First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos for personally visiting Bacolod on August 14, 2026 to assess the plight of farmers, workers, and agrarian reform beneficiaries.

As the coalition representing over two-thirds of national sugar production, The Sugar Council—along with NACUSIP and DALO—is fully supportive of the programs of the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. We thank the President for allowing the First Lady to visit Bacolod and discuss with stakeholders the pressing concerns involving the sugar industry.

We also thank Deputy Speaker Albee Benitez, Rep. Javi Benitez, and former Senator Mar Roxas for facilitating this vital dialogue and demonstrating their unwavering support for the industry.

To rectify the systemic mismanagement of the sector, we strongly back the legislative expansion of the Sugar Board—the governing body of the SRA. We demand that this policy-making body be expanded to include seats for small farmers, workers, and agrarian reform beneficiaries. The voices of the actual tillers must be heard.

The board—which includes SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona, Planters’ Representative David Andrew Sanson, and Millers’ Representative Ma. Mitzi Mangwag—has failed terribly in managing the affairs of the industry. The composition of the Sugar Board must be replaced.

The issues that are crippling the sugar industry are beyond politics.*