Hundreds of sugarcane farmworkers, small millers, and members of various planters’ associations collectively protested in Passi City, Iloilo on January 22. They condemned the continued decline of sugar price, which they said was caused by sugar importation surge into the country and the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA)’s incompetence.

Led by the Jalasig Sugar Planters Association (JSPA), the workers demanded government intervention to address the falling farmgate price of sugar. They urged the government to duly consider the sugar industry and immediately implement measures to protect farmers and farmworkers.

Sugar farmgate prices fell by 25% or ₱700 per sack compared to last year’s ₱2,900–₱2,800 per sack. According to JSPA, peasants are suffering from huge losses as production costs continue to rise. Furthermore, they face pest infestations and overflowing storage facilities due to sluggish sales.

Prior to the protest, JSPA had held several dialogues with local officials and legislators. The group is also preparing a manifesto to gather thousands of signatures nationwide.

The Paghugpong sang mga Mangunguma sa Panay kag Guimaras (Pamanggas, or Peasant Union in Panay and Guimaras), a regional chapter of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP, or Peasant Movement of the Philippines) both support the protest. “The current administration’s corruption and undemocratic governance neglects local production and the welfare of affected farmers,” Pamanggas declared.

The group said that the government’s weak control and regulation of the sugar industry have persisted and worsened since SRA was created in 1986. It added that these government policies portend the complete collapse of the country’s local sugar industry.

Led by the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW)-Negros, sugar and farm workers protested at the SRA office in Bacolod City on the same day.

According to the group, the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the SRA failed to explain the cause of the sugar price’ decline. “The SRA’s role has become mere ornamental, serving only to cover up and obey the dictates of big comprador bourgeoisie and giant sugar traders, both foreign and local,” NFSW-Negros said.

The deeply disappointed group said the lives and livelihoods of Negros residents—especially those directly dependent on the sugar industry—are at stake. There are around 380,000 sugarcane farmworkers and about 18,000 central workers. Around 80% of planters are small agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs).

The group added that the current miserable condition will arouse peasants to struggle in various forms to defend their lives and livelihood. “This will forge the exploited to confront hardship and sacrifice in pursuit of genuine land reform and national industrialization,” it said.