Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan underscored the need for structural, legislative, and budgetary reforms in the multi-billion sugar industry, pointing out inadequate government support, rising production costs, and declining farmgate prices that could potentially bring the industry down to its knees.
The senator and chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform was in Talisay City, Negros Occidental on Friday, January 23, to hold a public consultation with sugar planters in a bid to identify the many challenges that plague the multi-billion-peso industry.
The focus of the public consultation, he explained, was to find a way to stabilize prices and incomes, fix recurring structural bottlenecks such as capacity, investment, and governance, and implement a sugar industry roadmap complemented by a strong budgetary support and trade policy.
“This public consultation matters because real reform cannot be designed from Congress alone. I personally commit to translating your inputs into legislative and budgetary action,” Pangilinan said.
(Mahalaga ang public consultation na ito dahil ang tunay na reporma ay hindi lamang dapat manggaling sa Kongreso. Personal kong titiyakin na ang lahat ng inyong suhestiyon ay maisasakatuparan natin gamit ang batas at tamang pondo.)
“In return, we ask for concrete proposals on possibly price floors, program design, Sugarcane Industry Development Act (SIDA) priorities, and meaningful reforms at the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA). Let us be frank, practical, and help one another so that the sugar industry can once again be a source of stability, not uncertainty, for Negros and the nation,” he added.
(Bilang kapalit, hinihiling namin ang inyong mga suhestiyon ukol sa price floors, mga programa, mga prayoridad ng SIDA, at makabuluhang reporma sa SRA. Maging pranka at praktikal tayo. Magtulungan tayo para ang ating industriya ng asukal ay maging bukal ng stabilidad, at hindi ng kawalang-tiyak, para sa Negros at sa bansa.)
As sponsor of the budget for the Department of Agriculture (DA), Pangilinan has emphasized the need for a P2-billion allocation for the SRA during the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) budget plenary deliberations last year to revitalize the country’s sugar industry.
But the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has pointed out the SRA’s underutilization and absorptive capacity, leading to a P1.02 billion appropriation for 2026 instead.
Based on SRA Reports as of January 2026, the number of operating raw sugar mills declined from 28 in 2018 to 25 in 2025, with 13 mills located primarily in Negros Island. Sugar refineries also dropped from 13 to 10 over the same period, with only 5 refineries capable of producing premium-grade refined sugar.
The sentiment of especially the small planters is influenced by the decline in farmgate prices, with the per-bag of sugar falling to P2,150 to P2,300 last year. The current production cost is P2,500 per 50-kilogram bag.
“We are here with one purpose: to listen, to be candid about the crisis we face, and to agree on practical and sustainable solutions that protect farmers, workers, communities, and the industry,” Pangilinan stressed.
(Andito kami para sa isang layunin: makinig, maging tapat sa krisis na ating kinakaharap, at magkasundo sa mga praktikal at sustenableng solusyon na magbibigay proteksyon sa mga magsasaka, trabahador, komyunidad, at sa industriya.)