Bacolod City, Philippines - Due to alleged substantial losses in operations, the management of the ethanol manufacturing firm, Bio-Energy, Inc. based in San Carlos City in northern Negros Occidental province, has laid off some 86 workers after declaring that it will cease production. Bio-Energy Inc. management said the company is losing by as much as P15 million monthly as its production costs are higher than what the company gets for its product sold to oil companies.
The latter, by law, are bound to purchase a percentage of ethanol to be mixed into its oil products. However, oil companies are importing their ethanol requirements rather than buy locally since the cost of imported ethanol is cheaper than that which is charged for locally-produced ones. Just very recently, Negrense Senator Miguel Zubiri, who was a recent visitor to Negros Occidental, denounced Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her administration for failing to protect local ethanol producing Bio-Energy Inc., which is the first of its kind in Asia. Oil companies, apparently, have been buying its ethanol mix from cheaper imports, primarily from Brazil. Now, the 86 workers laid off from work by Bio-Energy Inc. have announced their intent to sue management. The plight of said workers have been likened to the closure many years ago of the once-vibrant San Carlos Milling Company which had no choice but to displace its workers after the price of sugar in the world market plunged, causing the company's collapse.
