SIDA fund hike to P5B difficult but P2B being pushed for 2025
August 8, 2024
by Carla P. Gomez
An increase in the annual Sugar Industry Development Act (SIDA) fund from P2 billion to P5 billion would be very difficult at this time because of the issues on the slow absorptive capacity of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), Rep. Mark Enverga (Quezon City, 1st District) said on Thursday. August 8.
But there is a unanimous position to lobby for P2 billion for 2025 for the improvement of sugar production efficiency as provided under the SIDA, he said.
Only P1 billion has been allocated for 2025 in the National Expenditure Program that is up for deliberation in Congress.
Enverga, House Committee on Agriculture and Food chair, presided over a hearing on proposed amendments to the 2015 SIDA, authored by then Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, at Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay City, Negros Occidental, on Thursday.
The hearing was held in Negros Occidental on the initiative of Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District), Enverga said.
Republic Act 10659 or the Sugarcane Industry Development Act of 2015, passed into law in the 15th Congress, intended to increase production efficiency in sugarcane farms and sugar mills through research and technological innovation, infrastructure, and human resource development, Enverga said.
However, as reported by SRA in their previous hearings, the implementation of programs, except for infrastructure, has been slow and with limited impact, he said.
The House Committee on Agriculture and Food is finding ways to improve the SRA’s spending capacity of the SIDA fund in order to justify the push for an increase in its annual allocation, he said.
“We would like to get a better understanding on what are delaying or affecting the absorptive capacity of SRA in terms of implementing a very good program,” Enverga said.
The SIDA states that an annual allocation of P2 billion should be granted for the development of the sugar industry but through the years the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has reduced the amount because of the slow utilization by the SRA, he said.
Enverga said while the infrastructure component is easily handled by the Department of Public Works and Highways there is a concern over the slow release by the Land Bank of the Philippines of socialized credit also granted under the SIDA fund.
He noted that Rep. Emillio Yulo III (Neg. Occ., 5th District) mentioned that there is a move from Land Bank to simplify the loan documents and guidelines for farmers.
”That would definitely increase the pace of development for the sugar farmers”, he said.
The SRA reported that from 2016 to 2024 only P8.645 billion has been allocated for the sugar industry, which is way below the P18 billion that was due it at P2 billion annually over the 9-year period
Amendments in the SIDA would help them justify to DBM the need to improve and increase the allocation for the sugar industry, Enverga said.
AMENDMENTS
Enverga said two bills seeking amendments to the SIDA have been filed.
House Bill No. 835 that seeks to increase the mandatory appropriation for the sugar industry from P2 billion to P5 billion was introduced by Rep. Michael L. Romero (1-Pacman Partylist).
House Bill No. 2207 filed by Rep. Manuel Sagarbarria (Neg. Or. 2nd District) seeks to amend Section 9 of the SIDA law where the Bureau of Customs shall require importers and consignees to secure from the SRA the authorization to import and the classification of the imported sugar prior to its release.
It also seeks to amend Section 11 to require SRA to conduct prior consultation with all concerned sectors in the identification and prioritization of specific programs and projects.
MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
Former Negros Occidental governor and SRA administrator Rafael Coscolluela, speaking for the Sugar Council composed of the Confederation of Sugar Producers’ Associations, National Federation of Sugarcane Planters and Panay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers, said they are proposing the inclusion of the milling sector in SIDA programs.
“If we hope to improve the efficiency of the sugarcane industry we cannot ignore the efficiency challenges faced by the milling sector”, he said.
They would like to include a full-time SIDA Program Management Structure with SRA oversight function over it, he said, for the efficient, timely and effective implementation of SIDA programs.
They are also seeking the institutionalization of the Stakeholders Consultative Assembly to fill the gap left by the Sugar Alliance of the Philippines, which is no longer active, Coscolluela said.
The assembly would serve as the Sugar Board’s formal consultative mechanism on sugar policy and SIDA programs, he added.
INCREASES TO P1B
SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said when the SIDA started the initial allocation of P1.8 billion in 2016 was not fully utilized so it gradually went down to as low as P320 million but in 2023 and 2024 it went up to P1 billion a year.
But all our proposals are for P2 billion but approval is dependent on the DBM, Azcona said.
He said they have streamlined processes so they can now hasten spending, he said.
Representatives present at the public hearing aside from Enverga were Manuel Sagarbarria (Neg. Or., 2nd District), Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District), Emilio Yulo III (Neg. Occ., 5th District), Mercedes Alvarez (Neg. Occ., 6th District), Greg Gasataya (Bacolod) and Stephen Paduano (Abang Lingkod Partylist).*
