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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider ES Rodriguez willing to face Blue Ribbon panel again on sugar mess--Zubiri

ES Rodriguez willing to face Blue Ribbon panel again on sugar mess--Zubiri

Published Aug 24, 2022 06:03 pm

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said Wednesday, Aug. 24 that Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez is willing to return to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to report on current government inspections and raids on warehouses containing alleged hoarded sugar.

These are the same warehouses that have been found to hold thousand of bags of sugar amid a supposed supply shortage for the commodity.

Operatives from the Intelligence Service, Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP), Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Presidential Security Group (PSG) accompanied Rodriguez in these inspections at bodegas in Bulacan, Pampanga, and the National Capital Region (NCR).

The cost of sugar has begun to go down, probably owing to these raids.

The executive secretary did not stay long during the Blue Ribbon panel's public hearing Tuesday, Aug. 23 because he had to attend a Cabinet meeting in Malacañang.

Zubiri is convinced that Rodriguez has no knowledge of the aborted Sugar Order (SO) No. 4 of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), which green-lit the importation of 300,000 metric tons (MTs) of sugar.

This is because Rodriguez himself reported to the President on the controversial order although it was reported that there were only plans to import sugar.

Instead, Zubiri said that it's former SRA Administrator Hermenegildo Serafica who has a lot of explaining to do on the aborted sugar importation.

Zubiri said that under Serafica, the SRA has become notorious in pushing for the importation of sugar instead of helping the sugar industry.

He recalled a recent defiance by the SRA of a temporary restraining order from a Negros Occidental Regional Trial Court (RTC) against SRA’s planned sugar importation

Zubiri slammed the position of the SRA that the TRO covers only the Visayas provinces. SRA later began to import 200,000 MTs through SO No.3.

Although he is not a lawyer, Zubiri said TROs cover the whole country.

‘’He has been doing it na. They bypass the TRO, proceeded with importation, notorius ang SRA (SRA is notorious). You can't blame us for pointing our fingers to Serafica. Notorious na po ang SRA administration at that time (SRA was notorious at that time). Talagang sabi namin mag-resign na sila and it was classified as illegal (We really said that they should resign and the sugar order was classified as illegal),’’ he added.

Serafica himself admitted during the Senate committee hearing that he did not consult with and kept secret from his deputy administrators the controversial SO No.4

The Senate President noted that SO No.4 did not obligate the posting of performance bonds by importers so that small companies could also import sugar.

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