Heads will roll over the illegal order on sugar importation, Malacañang said. But for now, it will have to wait for the investigation on the incident to be completed.
This was the Palace's response on the call of Senator Imee Marcos to her brother, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., to reshuffle top Agriculture officials following the issuance of an unauthorized order allowing the importation of additional 300,000 metric tons of sugar, which he did not sign and rejected.
"The response really has begun," Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said on Friday, Aug. 12, when sought for the President's response on the Senator's call.
She stressed that the moment the President learned about the incident, he promptly ordered an investigation.
The Press Secretary said Marcos wants to know who are the people involved and the extent of their involvement, if it was attended with malice, or negligence, or if it was simply a case of bad judgment.
"Kailangan malaman natin 'tong mga ito at kung sino pa pa ang involved dito (We need to know who are the other people involved). So that's how things stand right now, continuing po yung ating imbestigasyon. Ito na po yung response (the investigation is continuing. This is the response)," Angeles said.
"We laud, of course, Senator Imee, (for) her concern over this. Tama naman po siya (She's actually right). But, well, probably beyond that probably if there are sufficient findings then heads will roll," she ensured.
Angeles further said that the dismantling of criminal syndicates in the Department of Agriculture, which the Senator also raised, is already a part of the investigation.
"I am sure the President has already noted this. Wala lang po kaming ipapahayag sa ngayon tungkol sa mga plano (We're not issuing any statement about it for now) because the investigation will probably cover a more extensive review than simply the resolution that was issued by the Sugar Regulatory Board," Angeles said.
The investigation on the incident started after the Palace found out that the importation order was issued on Aug. 10 without the President's go signal.
The Palace called the issuance of the unauthorized order as "illegal" and a hasty decision made despite the administration’s stance in the importation of agricultural goods.