Saturday, October 22, 2016, By TERESA D. ELLERA (SunStar Bacolod) | https://goo.gl/xKYAyK
SENATOR Juan Miguel Zubiri said the anti-US policy and declaration of a President Rodrigo Duterte has good effect on the sugar industry.
“Some planters like it because it will increase the prices of their produced sugar if ‘A’ sugar or US export sugar will be classified to ‘B’ or domestic sugar,” Zubiri said in a press conference in Bacolod City, Friday, October 21.
The price of “A” sugar is pegged at only P900 per bag while domestic sugar is priced at P1,800 per bag now, he added.
“This would mean good income for our sugar planters especially here in Negros,” he said.
However, Zubiri said there’s a minus effect in the President’s pronouncement because the US sugar quota is an act of Congress.
“So if the US Congress will also be against us then definitely we will be affected in the future,” he added.
Zubiri added the senators are now trying to soften the situation after the statement of Duterte that the Philippines is separating from the US.
“Our relationship with America transcends the kind of leadership that we have now. The President may be adverse with America now but the next President in 2022 may be friendly with the US. The friendship between the two countries goes back 70 years since World War II,” he said.
“As you can see in the latest survey, the US got plus 66 percent approval rating of the Filipinos while China got negative 33 percent. So individually we love America. That cannot be changed by the policy statement of one person. We will respect the decision of the President, but we will try to soften it. As senators we are doing our jobs and I believe that our friendship will last forever,” Zubiri added.