A Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, Regional Trial Court judge has initiated indirect contempt proceedings against Sugar Regulatory Administrator Hermenegildo Serafica for issuing a memorandum allowing the implementation of Sugar Order No. 3 that grants the importation of sugar despite an injunction against it while a case is pending in court.
Himamaylan RTC Branch 55 Judge Walter Zorilla ordered Serafica to show cause within 15 days why he should not be cited in contempt of court for failing to abide with the writ of preliminary injunction order and for issuing Memorandum Circular No. 11 on May 4.
The circular addressed to the applicants of Sugar Order No. 3 allows the processing of applications for the importation of refined sugar for the whole country, excluding Region 6 only, the petition for Serafica to be cited for contempt said.
The initial presentation of the petitioners’ evidence as well as the hearing for the indirect contempt proceedings is set on August 24, the judge said.
Enrique Tayo, president of the Negros Occidental Federation of Farmers Association, and David Alba representing the Association de Agricoltores de la Carlota y Pontevedra Inc. and the La Carlota Mill District Multi-Purpose Cooperative had filed a civil case for declaratory relief with prayer for issuance of temporary restraining order and writ of preliminary injunction against Serafica to prevent the implementation of Sugar Order No. 3 allowing the importation of the 200,000 metric tons of sugar.
“We are thankful to the court for hearing the plea of our 13,000 sugar farmer members who have been greatly affected by the orders issued by Serafica without proper consultation,” Alba said Wednesday, June 1.
“Serafica’s memo to continue implementing SO 3 outside of Region 6 despite our pending petition against it is a slap to our courts of law,” he added.
The SRA administrator’s actions simply prove that he is bent to accommodate the industrial users, particularly the bottling industries, to the detriment of the entire sugar industry and even the general public, Alba said.
“We continue to reiterate our call that while we are not against sugar importation per se, this decision must be done with proper consultation and must ensure that it will not only serve and benefit the few, but the entire country,” Alba said.*