Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 809)
Republic Act No. 809 regulates the relations among persons engaged in the sugar industry in the Philippines, specifically concerning the division of unrefined sugar production between planters and sugar centrals.
The division of unrefined sugar varies depending on the maximum actual production of the milling district. Shares range from 60% for the planter and 40% for the central in smaller districts, up to 70% for the planter and 30% for the central in larger districts with production exceeding 1,200,000 piculs.
'Actual production' refers to the total production of the sugar mill for the crop year immediately preceding the current year.
No, Section 2 of the Act explicitly prohibits diminishing the planter's share by deductions for storage, transportation, or other milling process-related costs.
No. According to Section 3, enforcement of this Act shall not be deemed a cause for reducing wages, withdrawing benefits, or laying off or dismissing workers in sugar centrals.
If a sugar central refuses to mill the sugar-cane of planters in the absence of an agreement, the President of the Philippines may issue a proclamation taking over the central for national welfare, and appoint an administrator to operate it under government authority.
If a planter or plantation owner neglects or refuses to plant more than two-thirds of their previously cultivated land with sugar-cane without valid cause, and this refusal risks causing a national quota deficiency, the President can issue a proclamation to take over and appoint an administrator.
Compensation is paid from the proceeds of operation corresponding to the central or planter, considering operational costs and other deductions as deemed just by the court.
Sixty percent of the increased participation granted above the planter’s present share is allotted to laborers, while forty percent goes to planters. Distribution to laborers is supervised by the Department of Labor.
Section 11 mandates all mills to install automatic equipment for weighing sugar-cane and sampling planters' juice to ensure accuracy and ensure laborers receive their full benefits.
No. Section 8 clarifies that nothing in the Act shall affect the trade agreement between the Republic of the Philippines and the United States proclaimed on January 1, 1947.
According to Section 10, the invalidity of any provision shall not affect the remaining provisions or their application to other persons or circumstances.