The US-Marcos Jr regime has intensified the neoliberal onslaught of liberalization, which allows the uncontrolled entry of artificial sweeteners and other sugars or sugar-based products from abroad. This does not include the huge volume of white sugar imported annually.

Planter federations in Negros expressed their concern after discovering the decade-long unrestrained entry of artificial sweeteners such as Sucralose, Aspartame and Acesulfame Potassium including High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) which reached 20,161,667 kilograms from 2022-2023. Other sugars like the “white sweet powder” have been accumulating from 200,000 to 300,000 metric tons per year. This is equivalent to four million sacks of sugar amounting to P10 billion loss to the sugar industry and reduces the demand of the national market.

Even the inutile Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has failed to expose this despite its responsibility. The gravity of the situation only emerged after Negros planters complained. Only then was the exact amount of yearly imports discovered and subsequently the crisis it will bring to Negros economy due to its being tied to the sugar monocrop economy.

Through the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), under the liberalization program of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), Sucralose, Aspartame, and Acesulfame Potassium are placed under zero tariff while HFCS remains with a high tariff due to unrest eight years ago mounted by planters and masses in Negros alike.

Big food and softdrink corporations favor the usage of artificial sweeteners due to cheaper production costs and thus result to bigger profits, as these sugar substitutes are 200-600 times sweeter than sugar. This is despite of the threat of health hazards to the people, such as diabetes and cancer.

If Negrosanons do not take a decisive action to prevent this, there is an imminent danger that local sugar production will be replaced by artificial sweeteners that will result to a massive displacement of farm and mill workers, and also affect livelihoods of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) which comprise 85% of small sugar cane planters in Negros.

The US-Marcos Jr regime must be made accountable in its failure to protect the local industry against these neoliberal attacks. The favoring of superprofit for big comprador bourgeoisie traders and local and foreign capitalist food and softdrink corporations will indubitably arise to extreme levels of poverty and hunger never seen before.

Marcos Jr will only make the Negros social volcano erupt if the sugar industry collapses through the imperialists’ neoliberal program of liberalization. This will only give a just reason for the Negrosanon masses to take up arms to defend themselves and their livelihoods.

NDF-Negros challenges various sectors that are directly relying on the sugar industry such as planters, ARBs, farm and mill workers, and other democratic sectors to unite and struggle to defend their livelihoods, much like what transpired eight years ago in their fight against HFCS. They must condemn the oppressive US-Marcos regime that mercilessly caused the economic crisis in the country due to its neoliberal offensive. We must show our collective anger and opposition through advancing and supporting the armed struggle, the sole solution to change the inhumane system brought by the reactionary state.