SRA should protect consumers

Sugar producers seem to have their eyes focused only on their profits. They no longer seem to care for the interest of the consumers. There is the difference between the outlook by some sugar leaders and the Sugar Regulatory Administration which is mandated to also consider the interest of the average consumer.

Right now, refined sugar is sold in Divisoria at P34 per kilo. If the price of sugar reached P1,500 per Lkg., that will immediately soar to P35 per kilogram. If one were to fall back on experience, that will create a howl and possibly prod the President to ask the Department of Trade and Industry to put a cap on the price of sugar.

Government intervention is something that producers dread or dislike. Thus, some griped that the release of the "C" sugar was going to deprive them of additional profits. Wrong. That also prevents a government crackdown on the sugar industry, if one is to be honest about it.

Thus, contrary to speculations of a downtrend in the millgate price of sugar, initial bidding reports indicated yesterday that the trend continues to hold. In the Hawaiian Mill district, "B" sugar continued to fetch a price of P1,005.58 for both the AHSSI and APSSI stocks. In La Carlota, however, it reached only P995.58 per Lkg. But that was to be expected. Dole of Biscom rejected the bid for P983, expecting that there should be a higher price. So that, even with the additional P15 that still amounts to only P998.

That shows an optimistic mindset. "A" sugar stocks, however, were bought at P1,036.10 for the Hawaiian groups and the Asociacion de Agricultores de La Carlota y Pontevedra, Inc.

Dole disposed of its "A" stocks at P1,025.50

Actually, according to Mike Hinojales, we want to have problems like the present ones. It makes life exciting for producers.

That, to a certain extent, sums up the perception that the well-intentioned planter is also concerned with the impact of higher prices will have on the consumers. Thus, they have their eyes also trained on the reaction of the buying public to a hike of the retail sales of sugar.

Thus, the Sugar Alliance of the Philippines, had earlier agreed to a price range of between P950 to P1,000 for the release of the "C" sugar. Of course, I do agree that the release should have been graduated instead of releasing all of them to the market. Still, that, to a certain extent, dampened runaway sugar millgate prices that could have prompted the government to lower the boom on the sugar industry.

In the meantime, the industry leaders, themselves, should start educating the public to expect a higher retail price of sugar. That also includes government policy-makers.

But a surprise development can only stir trouble for the industry. Thus, Negros Occidental Gov. Joseph Marañon was one of the few producers who immediately realized the implications of Administrator James Ledesma's move when he dismissed calls for the SRA head to resign.

Producers should not limit their sight to the tip of their noses. They must also realize that they are not the only stakeholders. A larger community is watching the developments. Ultimately, they must be taken into consideration. That's the mandate of the SRA - not only the producers but also the consumers.

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I agree with Councilor Jude Thaddeus Sayson that it is the prerogative of the Bacolod City Council to ask questions on how the money they had appropriated for the South East Asian Games was spent.

Walang personalan. And I am sure that Rep. Monico Puentevella who had nothing to do with the day-to-day operations of the Bacolod South East Asian Games secretariat, is not the object of the SP inquiries. And that seems to be a point missed.

By raising the issue of politics, BaSoc secretary-general Eric Loretizo may have inadvertently dragged Newks into the picture of his accountability of the money from the city government.

Instead of hurling the black propaganda issue, Loretizo could simply have come up with the liquidation reports plus the receipts the SP has been asking for. No sweat to it, Eric. After all, he is supposed to have these things long prepared, anticipating that the SP was bound to do it sooner or later.

By hinting that a local official is spreading misinformation that the P9 million given by the city to BaSoc for transportation of the athletes as an effort to pin the BaSoc for the use of the Cebro buses. Well, who contracted the Cebro buses? (Initially, if I am correct, the writer who first exposed that gripe by the foreign athletes got pilloried for allegedly peddling baseless reports). Unfortunately, it was only when Ceres buses were hired that the issue died down. Which simply means that the reports were true and the howl, instead of being dismissed as a figment of imagination, turned out to be true. There is nothing fake about the concerns raised by the city dads. It is in pursuit of their obligation to see to it that the money of the city had been well-spent. And, I am sure that the city council's concerns are motivated by a desire to just clarify things. And there's nothing wrong with that. All one has to do is answer the questions. The issues, if there are, will die down when one produces the supporting documents.*

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