MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine sugar industry is facing a dual crisis of declining productivity and a rapidly expanding market for low-tariff sugar substitutes, prompting Senator Risa Hontiveros to file Senate Resolution No. 298 for a full-scale legislative inquiry.
The resolution, reported on Thursday, February 12, 2026, calls for a comprehensive review of the Sugar Industry Development Act of 2015 (SIDA) and the charter of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to protect the livelihoods of an estimated 700,000 workers and 6 million Filipinos indirectly dependent on the sector.
Key Issues in the Senate Probe
- The “Other Sugars” Loophole: Sugar substitutes (tariff line 1702) currently enjoy lower tariff rates compared to refined sugar (tariff line 1701). This disparity has incentivized massive imports—estimated at the equivalent of 200,000 metric tons of raw sugar in 2025—which stakeholders say are eroding demand for local cane sugar.
- Misdeclaration Scandals: The SRA has flagged instances where refined sugar is misdeclared as “Other Sugars” to evade higher taxes, resulting in significant revenue losses for the government.
- Consolidation of Power: Hontiveros raised concerns over SRA orders that link import privileges to the purchase of local “buffer stocks,” a mechanism that potentially favors large, highly capitalized trader-millers over smaller stakeholders.
- Productivity Gaps: Despite reaching a four-year output high in 2025, domestic supply met only 87 percent of demand. High production costs, low milling efficiency, and the impact of Tropical Storm Tino have kept local prices high even as global sugar prices fell.
Unified Industry Response In a rare move, sugar federations from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, alongside millers and refiners, signed a manifesto calling for the regulation of artificial sweeteners. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. described the industry’s response as a “momentous unity” and confirmed that the Department of Agriculture (DA) is now studying a tariff increase for artificial sugars, which currently stand at only 5 percent.
Reviewing SIDA Allotments The Senate inquiry will also examine why the P2 billion annual allocation for SIDA has yet to resolve persistent industry issues such as lack of infrastructure, insufficient R&D, and low farmer incomes. With the ban on sugar importation extended until the end of 2026, the focus is now on structural reforms that can withstand the increasing frequency of adverse weather events like El Niño and La Niña.
The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reforms is expected to summon regulators and industry leaders to determine if the 1987 SRA charter remains relevant in a market increasingly dominated by global substitutes and complex trade dynamics.