Senator Francis Escudero, who authored the Sugarcane Act in the Senate, Tuesday said “If the bill has any chance of passing it, it should be passed within the year, because of the election next year”.

HB 6113, also known as the Sugarcane Industry Development Act of 2012, authored by Rep. Alfredo Benitez, is geared towards revitalizing and strengthening the sugarcane industry through diversification, development and financing programs, to cushion if not counter the possible destabilization effects of the tariff lifting on imported sugar entering the Philippines by 2015.

Escudero said Tuesday night that the proposed bill is now at the Senate committee on Agriculture headed by Senator Francis Pangilinan. He, however, said it has not been deliberated on yet because of the recent impeachment case, and the rooms used for committee hearings were occupied by the media.

At the House level, Benitez said the proposed legislative measure is now at the Committee on Ways and Means, after it was passed on first reading by the Committee on Agriculture.

With its scheduled deliberation next month, Benitez said he is hopeful that it will be immediately tackled during the plenary session for approval on its second and third final reading, respectively, before it is transmitted to the Senate.

HB 6113 also aims to establish a Sugarcane Industry Development Fund to be collected from the proceeds of 15 percent of the Value Added Tax on the sale and importation of refined sugar and sugarcane by-products and the total tariff collected on the importation of raw, refined and premix sugar.

All the proceeds collected will be remitted in full by the Department of Finance to a separate trust to be maintained by the Philippine Sugar Corp. to fund among others the establishment of Special Economic Zones for the sugar industry and agro industrial districts.

The fund is also geared toward providing assistance to sugar cane farmers, planters and mills to boost production, efficiency and diversification, for research and development, for socio economic programs, and scholarships for students taking degrees relevant to the sugarcane industry.

Benitez said the sugarcane act also aims to transform the sugarcane industry from merely producing sugar, to the production of power, fuel and other possible biochemical products, he added.

Under the ASEAN Free Trade Area agreement tariff on imported sugar entering the country dropped from 38 percent last year to 28 percent this year. It will further drop to 18 percent in 2013, 10 percent in 2014 and 5 percent in 2015.

Benitez said Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Gregorio Honasan and Edgardo Angara also expressed their support to the Sugarcane Act.

“We should be very thankful and happy that the bill is moving forward,” he said, adding that he is hopeful that it will be passed within the year.*GPB

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