4 Plants of Coca-Cola Suspend Operation Due to Sugar Shortage
Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines Inc. has temporarily halted operations at four of it’s facilities nationwide due to sugar shortage issues.
Juan Lorenzo Tañada, director of corporate and regulatory affairs for Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines, stated during the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on the “sugar crisis” on Tuesday that “on a day-to-day basis, we may be temporarily suspending operations in specific factories.”
Based on the report of GMA News that According to Tañada, activities are temporarily halted at the Coca-Cola factories in Davao, Imus, Cavite, Zamboanga, and Naga City, Camarines Sur.
“There could probably be a fifth, your honor, but off the top of my head, I remember four po, four plants at the moment,” he said.
Employees at these plants are not required to report to work, according to Tañada, despite the temporary stoppage of activities; nonetheless, their salaries and wages are still being paid.
In an interview with GMA News Online last week, Tañada stated that despite the operational challenges brought on by a scarcity of bottler-grade premium refined sugar, the company has vowed to do its “most” not to lay off a single employee and raise the cost of its products.
The report mentioned that Coca-Cola Philippines has previously stated that the industry will require 450,000 metric tons of premium refined sugar in order for manufacturers to run at full capacity for the remainder of the year and fulfill requests from clients that depend on their products for their sales and profitability.
According to Tañada, the corporation expressed confidence that the government will heed the industry’s appeal
It was already confirmed by press secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles that 150,000 metric tons of sugar will be imported as proposed.
The importation of 300,000 metric tons of sugar was authorized by the contentious Sugar Order No. 4 (SO 4), which was later deemed “illegal” because it was signed without the knowledge or consent of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who serves as both secretary of agriculture and chairman of the sugar board concurrently.
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