Sugar order legal — Hontiveros

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SEN. Risa Hontiveros yesterday said an order recently issued by the Sugar Regulatory Administration, which allowed the importation of 300,000 tons of sugar, was authorized.

Hontiveros, at the hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee on the planned sugar importation which has been rejected by President Marcos Jr., said Sugar Order No. 4 (SO4) was legal because former Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian had been given the authority to sign administrative issuances based on a memorandum issued by Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez.

“How can be it illegal when it was the Executive Secretary himself who issued a memorandum dated 15th July 2022 authorizing Usec Sebastian to sit as an ex-officio chairman or member of all duly constituted committees, councils, boards or bodies where the DA secretary is a member. Sa nasabing memo (In the said memo), he has the authority to sign administrative issuances,” Hontiveros said.

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SO4 was posted on the SRA website on the morning of August 10 and was removed hours later. Press Secretary Trixie Cruz Angeles then said Marcos, SRA chair as concurrent agriculture secretary, rejected the planned importation. The following day, Angeles said Malacañang is looking into the “illegal” resolution that authorized the importation without Marcos’ knowledge and approval. She also said there was no delegation of authority and Sebastian was not allowed to call meetings or sign resolutions.

Sebastian and two other signatories to the importation order have resigned.

Hontiveros said that as early as August 5, a draft of SO4 was submitted to Sebastian, and later that day, the Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Secretary sent to Rodriguez a copy of the draft “as well as a memorandum for the President.”

This means, she said, that Rodriguez knew that a draft order has been circulating, “an order that received support from stakeholders of the sugar industry.”

“Did he mention this at all to his principal?” she said.

Hontiveros said the issue could have been a “simple policy debate on the sterile question”of whether the country needs more sugar, but apparently the President was left in the dark.

“Why suggest na first time mo nadinig na may Sugar Order No. 4, when you were informed and kept in the loop as early as August 5?” Hontiveros said.

Hontiveros reiterated the DA should have a regular head who can focus on solving sugar and other issues, and not be led by someone who is preoccupied with some other matters like the President.

“This was not only about one man misinterpreting intent and acting outside powers. Ultimately, this is the fallout of a messy, haphazard bureaucracy,” Hontiveros said.

Rodriguez attended the hearing but had to leave early to attend a Cabinet meeting. He was no longer around when Hontiveros spoke.

Hontiveros said Rodriguez should be invited again to the next hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

Sebastian said he acted “in good faith” when he issued SO4 since there was “a matter of urgency” due to the looming sugar shortage in the coming months.

Echoing his statements last week before a meeting of two House committees, Sebastian also the decision to recommend the importation was based on data the department gathered and after consultations with stakeholders.

“There was an urgency of the situation,” he said.

He said he issued the order based on a memorandum given him by Rodriguez, which states that he can sit as ex-officio chairman or member of all duly constituted committees, councils, board or bodies where the agriculture secretary is a member.

“There was nobody who pushed me or pressured me on this matter. I signed for the secretary of agriculture based on the authority that was given to me on July 15, 2022,” Sebastian said.

SUPPLY

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Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said there was no need to import sugar because tons of sugar have been found hoarded in warehouses raided by authorities, adding some 120,000 MT of sugar still have to be released from warehouses.

Marcos has said the country may import around 150,000 tons with the current supply expected to last until October.

Sebastian said the country consumes around 170,000 MT of raw sugar, and around 85,000 MT of refined sugar a month. He added the country will have a deficit of more than 200,000 MT for raw sugar “even if the milling has started in September and October,” thus there is a need to import sugar

He said it is during the month of November that the country produces enough sugar to meet the demands.

“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,” he added.

Authorities led by the Bureau of Customs have been inspecting warehouses to determine if there is hoarding and smuggling.

Angeles yesterday said the inspections, which she call “visitorial powers,” will continue as the government is determined to run after all warehouse owners and caretakers that are taking advantage of the current supply concerns in the country.

The Office of the President the other day said the supposed sugar shortage in the country is “artificial” merely caused by hoarding done by unscrupulous traders.

BOC and SRA teams have been inspecting warehouses in Pampanga, Bulacan, Zambales, Caloocan City, Manila, Pangasinan, Batangas, and Davao since last week to determine if there are hoarding and smuggling of sugar.

Sebastian, SRA administrator Hermenigildo Serafica and SRA board member Roland Beltran have resigned after Marcos’ rejection of the planned importation.

Sebastian said: “I resigned out of delicadeza and to spare the President… I am accountable for all my actions.”

DRAFT ORDER

Earlier during the hearing, Rodriguez said it was only on August 10 that he learned of SO4 after a meeting in 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 (the) acting secretary… and without convening the SRA board,” said Rodriguez.

He said Sebastian sent him messages on August 7 asking for updates in connection with the importation of rice and sugar, but said he “purposely” did not reply since the matter was still “on the table” of Marcos.

Zubiri said SO4 was full of anomalies, from the time it was drafted until was approved by the SRA board.

Zubiri said it was Serafica and his staff members who solely drafted the order “without consulting the management of the SRA.”

“You drafted this yourself and you had the Sugar Regulatory Board sign without the knowledge of the deputy administrators. Don’t you think this is highly out of order?” Zubiri said.

Serafica replied: “In this case, since there was a directive (from Malacañang) to craft an importation plan, we did not want anybody know until such time it will reach the Office of the President.”

Zubiri said the SRA should not make importations without consulting the industries involved together with the stakeholders.

“Why the secrecy of such an order?” Zubiri added.

Based on the information he got, Zubiri said that on August 4 “they had a meeting in Malacañang to come up with an import plan.”

The next day, he said, Serafica emailed the draft of SO4 import plan to Sebastian, while on August 8, Serafica held a referendum with board members to have the plan approved. On August 9, the board resolution for SO4 was done.

“Apat na araw for such an important document, barring the two days of the weekend. Don’t you think that is highly irregular? Why the haste and secrecy of such an importation order?” he added.

He said SO4 “has no clause for a performance bond” which he said is one of the mechanisms put in place to protect from “unscrupulous importation.”

Zubiri said previous sugar orders had this safeguard as a requirement for importation but it was “unceremoniously” taken out in SO4.

He also asked why SO4 places sole authority to reclassify imported sugar from “C” to “B” on the SRA administrator where older sugar orders were usually vested this power in the entire board.

Serafica said it was to speed up the availability of sugar in the market.

Sen. Raffy Tulfo said he believes Sebastian was “smart” enough not to act on his own in issuing SO4.

“Ang maggagawa lang nun, yung pipirma sa ibabaw ng President ay people who are dumb or stupid, and you’re not stupid right?… Kaya ayaw mo lang magsalita kasi nga mayroon kang pinagtatakpang grupo or mga tao (Those who will do that, those who can sign on behalf of the President are people who are dumb or stupid, and you’re not stupid, right? …However, you don’t want to speak because you are covering up a group or people),” Tulfo said. — With Jocelyn Montemayor

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