The Social Amelioration Program (SAP) was institutionalized with the passage of Republic Act No. 6982, otherwise known as the Sugar Amelioration Act of 1991. SAP is a production sharing scheme that aims to improve the social and economic conditions of sugar workers and their families. While SAP was intended to augment the income and help the sugar workers enjoy a decent living, there are structural inequalities that are deeply embedded in the sugarcane industry which cause the transmission of inter-generational poverty. There are sugar workers that have remained marginalized owing to the migratory nature of their work, their lack of access to social protection, and the precarious work conditions (Maslang, 2014).
Using the transformative social protection framework, it identifies some key areas for improvement in implementing SAP as a social protection program. The timely and disaggregated data are essential for effectively targeting interventions for sugar workers. Strengthening governance and mechanisms is also necessary to enhance access to social protection interventions, especially at the local level. Further, there is a need for more integrated components within SAP to ensure a comprehensive approach. However, there is a potential that SAP to be transformative by strategically incorporating protective, preventive, and promotive measures, which can mitigate inequalities, and create opportunities for all individuals in the sugar industry to thrive and achieve the desired outcomes of effective coverage, sustainable livelihood, and decent work.
Keywords: social protection, social amelioration program, transformative, social vulnerability, sugar industry
RESEARCHERS: Tacadao, Miraluna S. | Comillo, Joan N. | Ruiz, Michelle Ann A. | Bucar, Arianne Ishreen C.