BY MATÉ ESPINA
THE SUGAR milling season is now officially open and with it, the expected influx of sacada or the sugar migrant workers from Antique to Negros Occidental.
Consideration was given much on the entry of the sacadas vis-à-vis containing the spread of COVID-19. Thus as early as July, guidelines were drafted, ensuring the well-being of the workers and the community they will be deployed at. This was agreed upon by governors Bong Lacson of Negros Occidental, Rhodora Cadiao of Antique, and Art Defensor of Iloilo for transit permits.
The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) pegged that about 5,000 to 6,000 seasonal sugar workers travel to Negros Occidental annually, many of them undocumented. And if there is one good thing out of this crisis, all sacadas who will be employed during this milling season will be properly documented as they are required to enlist under the local employment office and will be given identification cards and travel permits before their deployment.
Sacadas work as cane cutters but in the last two years, the industry had been facing challenges of hiring sugar workers because the construction boom became a major source of competition for daily workers. In fact, sugar planters here had to hire workers from as far as Palawan because of their dwindling numbers.
While some farms have started to mechanize to avoid the cost of hiring seasonal workers, some terrain will not be
The planters will have to shoulder additional costs this season because sacadas are required to undergo RT-PCR testing. For those who have PhilHealth coverage, their tests will be shouldered by the government insurance agency. But for those who are not enrolled, the sugar planter will bear the cost of at least P1,500 for each test which will be remitted to the provincial government.
As such, some industry players opted to support the Bayanihan Test Kit Program wherein they donate an amount for the purchase of RT-PCR test kits for less than a thousand and for every two test kits, one is given to the provincial government for public use and the other will be for their own nominee. So far, almost 9,000 test kits have been endorsed to the province.
There too is the cost of setting-up quarantine facilities in sugar farms where the workers will be immediately transported after testing and wait for their results. If they test negative, they will be allowed to work but for those who will test positive, they will be endorsed to the provincial government for further isolation and treatment if need be.
Both the SRA and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) have been checking haciendas to check that quarantine facilities for the workers are following basic health protocols.
Recently, the national Inter Agency Task Force granted a moratorium on sea and air travel to Negros Occidental till September 7th. This was upon the request of Gov. Lacson who pointed out that partial results of the mass testing showed that 220 residents in Bacolod and 48 in the province have tested positive.
Whether this will have an impact on the entry of the sugar workers remains to be seen. Some mills have already announced that they will open by Monday and if there is further delay in the arrival of the sacadas, this might cause some delay in the milling season.
Of course, the bulk of sugar workers are still from within the province. Another group of sugar workers will also be coming from Negros Oriental which drafted a separate agreement between the two provinces. Since milling in the other side of the island usually starts by December, some of their farm workers get deployed to the Occidental side before that.
Last Wednesday, the SRA issued Sugar Order No. 1 and has allocated seven percent of the country’s sugar production as “A” sugar or the US market quota and 93 percent as “B” for domestic market. This allocation was favored by Agriculture secretary William Dar, SRA administrator Hermie Serafica, and Board Member, Atty. Roland Beltran for the millers. Planters’ representative to the board, Atty. Dino Yulo on the other hand voted for a status quo of five percent as “A” and 95 as “B” but was in the minority.
Most planters’ groups recommended a lower allocation bound for the US but all are now in agreement that they will follow the SRA directive.
The National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) wanted “A” at only three percent, the Asociacion de Agricultores de La Carlota y Pontevedra, Inc. (AALCPI) at five percent, the Confederation of Sugar Producers (CONFED) recommended six percent while the United Sugar Producers Federation of the Philippines (UNIFED) and the Philippine Sugar Millers Association (PSMA) pegged it at seven percent.
With the sugar policy out, producers say all is well for as long as there will be no further allocation for “D” or the world market and no sugar importation will take place for this crop year.
SRA said that they are confident that production will be higher this year, estimated at 2.190 million metric tons or two percent higher than last year, due to good weather and increase in land area planted to sugar./PN
