Arcillas hails Sta. Rosa’s march toward becoming an industrial city

By Roy Tomandao

--Mayor

Arlene B. Arcillas has recognized the efforts of Santa Rosa residents in this year’s Sikhayan Festival held February 18 at the City of Santa Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex.

“Sikhayan” was derived from the words “sikap” at “kabuhayan” which intends to celebrate and recognize the efforts of the people in the city.

In her message during the opening of the festival, Arcillas said that the “pagsisikhay” of the citizens was the key to the develop- ment of Santa Rosa from the former municipality which thrives from farming and fishing towards becoming a commercial and industrial city that it is today.

In addition to the investors that entered and have continued to stay inside the city for many years, Arcillas also called on everyone’s participation in the continuous development of Santa Rosa consistent with the theme of Sikahayan 2023.

“Sikhayan is a testament to the unity and efforts not only of the City Government, not only of the industries but of every Santa Rosa family,” she said.

A CONSUMER group on Sunday called for the immediate passage of Senate Bill 1688 filed by Senator JV Ejercito which expands the coverage of RA 10845 or the “Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016” to include hoarding, profiteering, cartel and “other market abuses.”

The Malayang Konsyumer (MK) also said that the proposed amendments of Ejercito “are a timely intervention given the rising prices of goods like onions.”

MK spokesperson Atty. Simoun Salinas likewise criticized a separate but concurrent move at the Upper House adding tobacco and tobacco products as “wasteful,” stressing that the inclusion of nonessential items to the anti-smuggling measure “does not make sense and dilutes the purpose of RA 10845.”

Salinas was referring to Senate Bill 1812, proposed by Senator Lito Lapid, which seeks to insert both raw and processed tobacco products such as cigarettes to the current Anti-Smuggling Law’s short list of rice, corn, vegetables and other core household food items.

According to Salinas, “at the Senate we have a good proposal and a bad proposal, and it is clear to us that the Good One has the better bill for consumers.”

“JV is the Good One” was the slogan used by Ejercito in the 2022 national elections.

Salinas explained that “amendments aimed at improving the law should focus on offenses that are harmful to Filipino consumers and households, those crimes we consider to be large-scale and prevalent as to amount to economic sabotage. That’s why SB 1688 includes profiteering, hoarding and the like.”

“The Ejercito measure gives us that. It adds substance to the law. Compare that to the Lapid bill which has a different focus altogether. It’s illogical, ill-timed, and does not benefit food consumers. Tobacco is in a completely different class of non-essential, non-food products that do not deserve legal protection under RA 10845,” added the lawyer.