Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol denied Tuesday that he is favoring big beverage companies and dares those accusing him to show proof that he is corrupt.
Piñol made the statement after protesters accused him of receiving bribe from makers of Coca Cola and Pepsi soft drinks brands.
“Without even presenting proof, placards hoisted by the well-organized and obviously well-funded demonstrators called me “Money Piñol,” insinuating that I received money from Coca Cola and calling me anti-farmer,” Piñol said.
“They cited that because of the massive use by Coca Cola (also Pepsi Cola) of high fructose corn syrup, the prices of sugar dropped from P1,800 per bag of 50 kilos to only P1,300 per bag last week,” he said.
The protesters were reacting to Pinol’s recent pronouncement that he wanted to suspend the implementation an order regulating the entry of HFCS.
“The problem with SRA’s (Sugar Regulatory Administration) Sugar Order No. 3 is it regulated the importation of HFCS used by Coke in producing their soft drinks. They appealed because any change in the type of sugar that they will use in production will involve changing their machineries and equipment,” Piñol said.
He said the protesters called for a boycott of Coca Cola products, which Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon supported by ordering a ban on the sale and sponsorship of Coca Cola in the province in April.
“Coca Cola FEMSA Philippines and Pepsi Cola started relying heavily on the use of HFCS about five years ago when the prices of local sugar doubled compared to that of sugar coming from Thailand,” Piñol said.
“Nobody complained about HFCS until the prices dropped from P1,800 per bag to P1,300 last week. That was when the Sugar Regulatory Administration, where I sit as chairman of the board, recommended to President Rody Duterte that the import of HFCS should have a cap of just over 280,000 metric tons a year,” Piñol said.