The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee has recommended that administrative and criminal charges be filed against former Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian and three former Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) officials who were involved in the botched release of the controversial Sugar Order No. 4.

The Sugar Order No. 4 could have authorized the entry of 300,000 metric tons of sugar into the country.

Aside from Sebastian, the other officials named by the panel were former SRA Hermenegildo Serafica, former Sugar Board members Roland Beltran, and Aurelio Valderrama Jr.

According to Senator Francis Tolentino, chair of the blue ribbon panel, 14 out of 17 members of the panel signed the report with one dissenting opinion.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, for his part, said the Senate minority bloc will submit a separate committee report.

The report, Committee Report No. 35, read by Tolentino during the panel’s hearing on the alleged overpriced laptop procurement, stated that the four public officials involved committed “administrative offense of serious dishonesty, grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, and gross insubordination under the revised rules on administrative cases in the civil service.”

The panel also recommended that the four officials be charged for one count of violation of Section 3A of Republic Act 3019 otherwise known as the Anti-graft and Corrupt Practices Act; one count for violation of Section 3E of the Anti-graft and corrupt practices act; one count of violation on the provision of Republic Act 10845 otherwise known as the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016; and finally, one count of usurpation functions defined and penalized under article 177 of the Revised Penal Code.

The panel also recommended the following remedial legislation:

1. amendment of relevant legislation such as executive order number 18, republic act number 10659, and related laws to eject transparency and accountability in process of issuing import permits and other critical issuances

2. amendment of executive order number 18 to provide for the expansion of the sugar regulatory administration board to 8 members with the secretary of agriculture continuing to act as ex officio chairman and the addition of sectors represented such as additional board members to represent the consumers, both industrial and household, sugar industry workers, sugar transportation sector workers, and other stakeholders in the success of the sugar industry;

3. amendment of Executive Order No. 18 to prohibit the delegation of the authority of the SRA board to reclassify sugar;

4. a review and rationalization of the sugar importation policy of the government; and

5. full funding for the Sugar Industry Development Act or SIDA law or Republic Act 10659.

The panel also recommended that the SRA immediately prepare a sugar importation plan with appropriate safeguards that would be subjected for review of higher authorities.