After the joint panel hearing on the sugar mess,
Members of the House Committees on Good Government and Public Accountability and the Committee on Agriculture and Food showed indecision Thursday, Sept. 8 on whether or not to invite Executive Secretary (ES) Vic Rodriguez to their joint probe on the sugar importation mess.
That is, until they just opted to end the inquiry altogether on Thursday afternoon.
The good government panel and the agriculture panel–chaired by San Jose Del Monte lone district Rep. Florida Robes and Quezon 1st district Rep. Mark Enverga, respectively –resumed its inquiry in aid of legislation on the sugar importation fiascothat same morning.
SAGIP Party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta manifested that the joint panels would benefit from getting the side of Rodriguez on the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) and the sugar importation issue.
“Kapag wala yung side ni ES dito, hindi natin makukumpleto yung picture kasi binabasa ko yung affidavit ni Serafica, siya raw ang nagsabi na gumawa ka ng sugar order kasi naestablish nga na kulang na yung domestic consumption and so on (If Rodriguez does not give his side, we can’t complete the picture. Based on what I’ve read from Serafica’s affidavit, it was Rodriguez that gave the directive to draft a sugar order because it had been established that domestic consumption supply was low),” Marcoleta said before the joint panel.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez attended the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s hearings on the sugar mess after a subpoena was issued against him for failing to attend previous hearings.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2022/09/06/senate-blue-ribbon-panel-issues-subpoena-vs-rodriguez/
Minority Leader and 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan suggested that other means be used to extract information from Rodriguez, given the amount of investigations–the Senate’s included– being conducted on the matter.
“Pwede natin tanungin ang ES, ano ang position paper nyo dito? Magpadala tayo ng specific questions sakanila... Pag hindi pa tayo satisfied, may Zoom meetings pa tayo. Kung hindi pa tayo nag Zoom at di pa tayo naliwanagan, saka na natin imbitahin in person (We can ask the ES for a position paper. We can send him specific questions...If we are not satisfied, we can meet him over Zoom. If we still need more, then we can invite him here),” Libanan proposed.
Meanwhile, Robes expressed hesitation at inviting Rodriguez to the House joint panel investigation.
“The first time that we had a meeting with the SRA Board and the BOC (Bureau of Customs), they have actually admitted that the Executive Secretary is not part of it so there was actually an answer from the end of Sebastian and of Serafica. So it was actually under oath. The committee will be in trouble if ever there will be another...What I’m saying is that they have taken oath and they have said that when we asked them if the President instructed him, or the Executive Secretary, or anyone from the palace, they said no,” Robes said.
Given the impasse, veteran solon Cavite 4th district Rep. Elpidio Barzaga put forward a solution.
“It seems that the pleasure of my distinguished friend, Marcoleta, is to invite ES Rodriguez. However, we have to consider that the ES is not an ordinary Cabinet member, he happens to be called ‘The Little President’ and we have also to consider that right now the President is abroad...The ES plays a very important role,” Barzaga said.
“Considering that we have already the resource persons and the documents, we continue with the hearing and at the end, if it is the pleasure of Marcoleta to invite the ES, let our good friend put that in motion,” Barzaga added.
However, toward the end of the hearing, Marcoleta was no longer present to make such motion. The hearing was subsequently terminated.
In order for the probe to be reopened, another House resolution must be filed by a congressman and subsequently referred to the concerned committees.