Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson said in a press release yesterday he will introduce a legislation to complement the Biofuels Act if he will be given the privilege to serve as senator.

Singson, who is expected in Negros Occidental today with his fellow candidates in the Team Unity, said he believes it is important to optimize the financial windfall that shall be derived by the sugar producing provinces of Negros from the Biofuels Act of 2006. He said that one way to plow back revenues to sugar producing provinces is to craft a law similar to the Republic Act 7171 Virginia Tobacco Law he authored in 1992 when he served as congressman, the press release said.

R.A. 7171 channels 15 percent of taxes collected on finished tobacco products directly to local government units of tobacco producing provinces. These funds, amounting to billions of pesos, were in turn used to provide farmers with modern agricultural technology, funds for cooperatives, and to build infrastructure.

Singson, who will meet with Gov. Joseph Marañon in Sagay City and hold a dialog with sugar planters associations during his visit, said that funds generated through a version of R.A. 7171 for sugar producing provinces could be used to provide subsidies for the sugar industry and upgrade sugar production technologies to allow the country to compete better in the world market and ensure low prices of domestic sugar, the press release said.

He said both the tobacco and sugar industries face similar challenges, and expressed hope that by sharing information and finding a way to work together, they could come up with a viable and long-term solutions to achieving prosperity for farmers and agricultural workers.

Singson said that with a higher and sustained demand for sugar because of the Biofuels Act, it should be ensured that part of government revenues generated from the sale of sugar as feedstock and as consumer products should be given back to sugar producing provinces.

This will provide them funds that will allow them to invest programs and projects that will ensure long term future growth and stability, Singson added in the press release.*

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