Negrenses set to launch a boycott against Coca-Cola products at a rally at the Bacolod public plaza tomorrow afternoon warned that they will bring their protests nationwide if the firm fails to heed their demand to buy local sugar, and pay tariff on massive amounts of sugar it brought into the country, allegedly in the guise of premixes.

Importation of sugar in the guise of premixes at zero tariff since the time of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has caused the government P1.7 billion in lost revenues, Guillermo Barreta Jr., Negros Labor Center coordinator and a Sugar Watch convenor, claimed.

A 38 percent tariff is slapped on imported sugar entering the country, while Coca-Cola gets away with zero tariff because it labels its imports as premixes, he said.

Sugar Regulatory Administrator Ma. Regina Bautista-Martin yesterday said she has issued Sugar Order No. 11 Series of 2010-2011 allowing the export of “B” or domestic sugar as advance-swapped to “D”, or world market sugar, as soon as possible to allow movement of production.

“We have about 2.3 million metric tons of sugar produced so far with just a handful of mills left grinding by July. We hope to export at least 100,000 MT to the world,” Martin said.

She said she expects milling for this crop year to end by the third week July.

The celebration of Father’s Day on Sunday turned out to be a tragedy for a family of four, when their vehicle slammed into a coconut tree, and fell into a canal at the highway of Hacienda Tinijaban in EB Magalona, Negros Occidental.

The driver of the Nissan Vannet van, identified as Armin Virata, 37, died on the spot, while his wife, Wellisa, and two children, Alfred Benedict, 11, and Alea Faith, 7, survived, with minor injuries, Police Officer 2 Mario Cerbo, EB Magalona police traffic investigator, said.

Cerbo said Virata and his family were on their way to Bacolod City, when the accident took place.