Amid pressure from senators to disclose the persons who supposedly influenced him to sign the unauthorized order on the importation of 300,000 metric tons (MTs) of sugar, former Department of Agriculture (DA) Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian said Tuesday, Aug. 23 that nobody was behind his move and that he just did it "in good faith".
During the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, Sebastian maintained there was a need to import sugar based on "data" the agency gathered as well as on "consultation" with sugar stakeholders.
But that claim was opposed by Senate President Migz Zubiri, who presented photos and videos of sacks of sugar being hoarded in various warehouses across the country.
Sebastian said he signed the controversial Sugar Order (SO) No. 4, which green-lit the importation of sugar for household consumption, on behalf of acting DA Secretary and President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., calling it "a matter of urgency".
He also cited his authority to do so, based on the memorandum signed by Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez.
"Kung smart po kayo, hindi nyo po gagawin 'yun. Ang magagagawa lang noon, yung pipirma sa ibabaw ng President ay (If you are smart, you wouldn't do that. Those who can sign on behalf of the President are) people who are dumb or stupid, and you're not stupid, right?... Kaya lang ayaw mo lang magsalita kasi nga mayroon kang pinagtatakpang grupo or mga tao (But you don't want to speak because you are covering up a particular group or people)," Senator Raffy Tulfo told Sebastian.
Zubiri and Senator Jinggoy Estrada also asked Sebastian to identify "who pushed him" to sign the order without the President's knowledge.
But Sebastian, who immediately tendered his resignation after Malacañang discovered the unauthorized signing, responded by saying: "As I have been emphasizing there was an urgency of the situation."
Despite the thousands of bags of sugar being hoarded and that were recently seized, the former DA official insisted that there was really a deficit in supply.
He justified it by saying: "We are talking about the month of September, October, when we have a big deficit for brown sugar. And then we have a big deficit for refined sugar up to December and we are talking about how many months."
Meanwhile, Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez, who was also present during the hearing, said the President was not aware of the signing of the order.
He said: "On 10 August, Wednesday, after the meeting in the state dining room of Malacañang, we learned that the SRA, through Usec. Leocadio Sebastian, passed a resolution approving Sugar Order No. 4 without submitting to us the following: the importation plan which should be the precursor for any sugar order to be issued, no knowledge of acting secretary, His Excellency Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and without even convening the SRA (Sugar Regulatory Administration) board."
Rodriguez said Sebastian sent him messages on Aug. 7 to ask for updates related to rice and sugar importation. But the executive secretary "purposely" did not respond to his queries as such matters were still "on the table" of the acting secretary, who is Marcos.
Senator Francis Tolentino, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, launched an investigation on the sugar importation mess "to unravel and unpack the reasons behind Sugar Order No. 4, the alleged artificial shortage, hoarding, and what precipitated the executive branch".
Senator Risa Hontiveros, who recently called for an official appointment of a DA secretary, said the fiasco only proved that "nobody is helped by disorganized leadership—not industry, not the traders, not the producers, and certainly not the consumers".
"This was not only about one man misinterpreting intent and acting outside powers. Ultimately, this is the fallout of a messy, haphazard bureaucracy," the opposition senator said.