MANILA — The president of a sugar milling company involved in the production of the controversial "BBM Sugar" explained on Wednesday the reason behind the branding of the said product.

In a text message to ABS-CBN News, Minnie Chua of Victorias Milling Company said that this is a way to distinguish their sugar from other brands.

"This is a private sector initiative and we marked it that way to distinguish our sugar from other sugars in the market," Chua said.

"This is also our way of showing support to the administation and to temper prices of sugar in the market," she added.

Victorias Milling Company is one the mills that offered to give sugar to government for selling at P70 per kilo.

The SRA started selling cheaper sugar on Monday to help consumers cope with the commodity's soaring prices.

• SRA nagsimulang magbenta ng mas murang asukal sa kanilang mga opisina

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said this is a temporary measure as the public wait for price of sugar to stabilize.

The "BBM Sugar" label in its packaging drew flak from social media, as the use of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s initials was seen as politicizing a basic commodity.

As of writing, "BBM Sugar" is being sold only at SRA offices in Quezon City and Bacolod City in Negros Occidental.

It will also soon be available in Kadiwa stores of the DA.

• Marcos says PH likely to import 150,000 MT of sugar in October as local supplies fall

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