BY WENDELL VIGILIA and JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR
THE House committee on good government and public accountability is set to hold a joint hearing today with the committee on agriculture to look into the controversy hounding the Sugar Regulatory Administration’s (SRA) move to import 300,000 metric tons of sugar on top of the amount imported last May.
President Marcos Jr., who rejected the importation last week, last night said the country’s sugar supply would last until October, which means the government can still delay the importation, and consider the importation of a smaller amount later this year.
The President, in his 222nd vlog that was uploaded in Facebook on Sunday night, said he wants to minimize importation as much as he can and would consider it only if the supply of certain products, especially food, is low.
He said he carefully studied the proposal to import 300,000 metric tons of sugar and found there is still enough supply of both locally-produced sugar and previously imported sugar in the inventory.
“So bago tayo mag-import ng panibagong asukal, sabi ko ubusin na muna natin ang supply na nandito. Maaaring bandang Oktubre, baka iyung supply na nandito sa Pilipinas ay paubos na. Baka sakali ay kailangan nating mag-import (before we import sugar, let as use the current supply that we have. Maybe by October, the supply in the Philippines will almost be used up. Maybe then we may need to import),” he said.
At the House, Bulacan Rep. Florida Robes, chair of the good government panel, said lawmakers will be briefed by agriculture officials this morning as they “expect to be enlightened on what really transpired so that we will be able to make informed decisions on the matter.”
“Our committee will endeavor to seek the truth in its pursuit of good governance and public accountability,” she said in a statement.
Robes said that since good governance requires transparency and accountability, “we need credible and trustworthy institutions.”
“That is why the committee on good government and accountability has taken the task of pursuing this need for transparency with respect to the issue over the sugar importation,” she said.
Malacañang warned last Thursday that heads will roll as it looks into the issuance of Sugar Order No. 4, which was signed by Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian on behalf of President Marcos who is the SRA chair being the concurrent agriculture secretary.
On Friday, Malacañang said Sebastian has resigned. Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said Sebastian submitted his letter dated August 11 and “admitted” the President did not give his authorization on the issuance of the order.
“I sincerely offer my apologies, Your Excellency, for my having approved Sugar Order No. 4 on your behalf, and through the authority you have vested upon me… I take accountability and responsibility for its consequences,” Sebastian said in his letter. It was not yet clear if Marcos had already accepted it.
Angeles has said investigations are still ongoing on the matter and those who signed the Sugar Order No. 4 are all under investigation.
The other supposed signatories in the document were SRA board vice chairperson Hermenegildo Serafica, member Roland Beltran representing the millers’ sector, and Aurelio Gerardo Valderama Jr. representing the planters’ sector.
The Palace has made it clear that the President did not authorize any meeting for the adoption of any resolution to import sugar and called the resolution “illegal.”
The resolution was uploaded on the website of the SRA website last Wednesday but was taken down after the Palace announced on the same day that the President had rejected the importation plan.
The order would have allocated 150,000 MT of sugar to industrial users and the other 150,000 MT to traders and producers.
The DA initially said the government was looking at importing an additional 300,000 metric tons of sugar to reduce the retail price of refined sugar to P72 per kilogram from a record-high of P115 per kilogram.
The importation would have given Filipino consumers a breather from the spiraling cost of the sweetener but calls are mounting for government to institute monitoring and demand management systems that would balance supply versus price.
Angeles has said Sebastian’s assignment as the alternate of the President in the SRA “is merely to be present in those meetings where the President cannot attend.”
“It is not a delegation of authority to call any meetings or to sign any resolutions in the absence of the President’s awareness that such a resolution is to be issued,” she said.
She said it was Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez who issued the instruction for the SRA to create an importation plan and determine if it will affect the incoming harvest.
The President is supposed to decide if there is really a need for another round of sugar importation.
ONLY HALF
Marcos, in the vlog, said if the government proceeds with the importation, it could be for about 150,000 metric tons or half of the proposed amount.
“Pero kakaunti lang hindi kasing dami nang kanilang sinasabi na 300,000 tons. Siguro marami, malaki na iyung 150,000 tons para sa buong taon na ito. Kaya sa aking palagay nabawasan nating mabuti ang importation ng sugar (But just a smaller amount and not as big as 300,000 tons. Probably, 150,000 tons is already enough for the rest of the year. I think we have lessened the importation of sugar),” he added.
The President said the government studies all importation carefully, be it for sugar, rice, feeds, fertilizer and the like.
He said the government is now talking with countries that were not previously supplying fertilizers to the Philippines amid the rising prices. He said a government-to-government deal is being pursued in a bid to have an affordable supply of fertilizer for the farmers.
Marcos said the country is also looking into the feed supply in the country after its prices also went up.
He said local corn growers were tapped to help produce and supply feeds used for livestock. He said the government is also looking at how best to help the local corn growers.
