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Senate panel recommends charges vs DA, SRA execs for sugar importation mess

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BLUE RIBBON COMPELS ES RODRIGUEZ TO SHOW UP: Sen. Francis “Tol” N. Tolentino, chairperson of the Blue Ribbon Committee on Tuesday, September 6, 2022, orders the issuance of a subpoena against Executive Sec. Victor Rodriguez following his failure to appear before the committee's two consecutive hearings. “Out of the 17 members of this committee, there was a vote conducted and a ballot envelope was used resulting in the following: 14 members participated in a secret balloting. Out of the 14 members, 11 members voted to subpoena Executive Sec. Victor Rodriguez, three members voted no, and three members abstained,” Tolentino said after the holding of the executive session. He added: “The committee secretary, pursuant to Section 17 of Resolution No. 5 as amended, of the Philippine Senate, is hereby directed to issue a subpoena, to be signed by the Chairman and to be approved by the Senate President and to be served to the Executive Secretary immediately, to require his presence and answer questions coming from the members of the Blue Ribbon Committee. Pursuant to lawful authority you (Executive Secretary) are hereby commanded to appear before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Thursday, September 8, at 10AM, Pasay City, to testify what you may know about the subject matter under consideration by the Blue Ribbon Committee pursuant to the privilege speech of Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri, Executive Order 18, the SRA law and the civil law of 2015, and produce documents relative to the said matters.” Tolentino also required the presence of the Bureau of Customs (BoC), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) representatives to shed light on the issue and personnel from the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to submit a complete and updated inventory of sugar stock before the aborted issuance of Sugar Order No. 4. (Voltaire F. Domingo/Senate PRIB)

Senate sugar fiasco charges

Sen. Francis “Tol” N. Tolentino, chairperson of the Blue Ribbon Committee. (Voltaire F. Domingo/Senate PRIB)

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Thursday recommended that charges against four officials of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Sugar  Regulatory Administration (SRA) be filed with the Office of the Ombudsman for their alleged involvement in the sugar importation fiasco.

Based on the committee report, the four officials who may be facing charges are Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian, former SRA Administrator Hermenegildo Serafica, and SRA board members Roland Beltran and Aurelio Gerardo Valderrama Jr.

Preliminary evidence showed that the four officials have “committed the administrative offenses of serious dishonesty, grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of service, and gross insubordination under the revised rules on administrative cases in the civil service,” the report stated.

The following criminal charges, meanwhile, were recommended to be filed against the officials:

-one count for a violation of Section 3A of Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act

-one count for a violation of Section 3E of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act

-one count for a violation of the provisions of Republic Act No. 10845 or the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016

-one count of usurpation of official functions defined and penalized under Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code

The panel, chaired by Senator Francis Tolentino, likewise pushed for the inclusion of the four officials in the immigration lookout bulletin.

According to Tolentino,  14 of 17 members of the panel  signed the report with one dissenting opinion.

The hearing on the sugar importation fiasco stemmed from the publication of Sugar Order No. 4, authorizing the importation of 300,000 metric tons of sugar, on the SRA website.

Malacañang then disowned the order, saying that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who concurrently sits as agriculture chief, rejected the proposed importation.

RELATED STORY:

Bongbong Marcos did not oppose proposed sugar importation program, says DA execs

/MUF
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