Faith and fiestas lift spirits in Negros Occidental amid sugar crisis

NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – In predominantly Roman Catholic Negros Occidental, where sugar prices have collapsed and livelihoods are under siege, faith has become a steady anchor. 

Imported sugar has flooded the market, driving local millgate prices down to P2,000 to P2,100 per 50-kilogram bag, well below the P2,500 standard production cost. As a result, farmers, mill owners, and thousands of agrarian reform beneficiaries face mounting losses, with many struggling to make ends meet. 

Yet for days until Sunday, January 18, streets vibrated with drums, colorful costumes, and the chants of Catholic devotees, as communities clung to their faith before and during the Santo Niño fiesta, defying the economic despair around them. For many Negrenses, belief is a source of endurance and hope, and not merely a tradition.

FLUVIAL. A float sails in a fluvial parade in Kabankalan City on Sunday, January 18, as part of the city’s 50th Sinulog de Kabankalan honoring Sr. Sto. Niño.

Kabankalan City and the town of EB Magalona, concluded their respective celebrations, Sinulog de Kabankalan and Sug-alaw Festival, all honoring the Child Jesus. While Kabankalan and EB Magalona concluded their festivities on Sunday, Cadiz City is set to begin its 52nd Dinagsa Festival on Monday, January 19.

Wennie Sancho, secretary general of the General Alliance of Workers Association, GAWA, said the resilience of the province’s sugar industry is being tested amid low millgate prices, inconsistent government policies, and looming threats from sugar import liberalization.

“We’ve faced challenges before and we’ve overcome them. Let’s do it again,” Sancho said.

For many Negrenses, the celebrations are a source of strength and a reminder that devotion persists even when livelihoods are on the line, and they offer more than entertainment. 

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Kabankalan Mayor Benjie Miranda acknowledged the economic strain on sugar farmers but said it had not diminished the faith of the city’s residents.

“The sugar crisis can never compromise our faith in the Señor Santo Niño. Sinulog, which started here in 1976, still unites us. We forget politics as we strengthen our faith and celebrate our culture, history, and heritage,” Miranda said.

The Sinulog Foundation Incorporated, supported by the local government, was behind the festivities, which included tribal and mardi gras street dances, arena competitions, fluvial parades, pyro-musical displays, celebrity concerts, and a beauty pageant.

Kabankalan, the province’s top-earning city, is home to the Southern Negros Development Corporation, District Mill and more than 1,000 large-scale sugar planters. Around 5,000 agrarian reform beneficiaries also cultivate sugarcane, many of whom are directly affected by the slump in millgate prices.

In EB Magalona, where 16 of 23 barangays remain dependent on haciendas, Mayor Matthew Louis Malacon said the Sug-alaw Festival had drawn unprecedented crowds. The five-day celebration, in its fourth iteration, honored Santo Niño de Saravia and included religious ceremonies, cultural showcases, and sporting events.

“Sug-alaw allows each Saraviahanon not just to celebrate, but to deepen and strengthen their faith in Santo. Niño,” Malacon said.

Cadiz City, meanwhile, postponed its festival opening to Monday due to bad weather due to Tropical Storm Ada (Nokaen), which had threatened communities near Kanlaon Volcano with lahar flows. Mayor Salvador Escalante promised an even more grandiose celebration this year.

Now in its 52nd year, Cadiz’s Dinagsa highlights include the Ati street dance competition and the Lamhitanay sa Dalan, where thousands smear each other with colorful non-toxic paints. – Rappler.com