Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said on Friday, September 9, that he believes two former members of the Sugar Regulatory Administration board were misled into signing Sugar Order No. 4 that sought the importation of 300,000 MT of sugar.
Zubiri said he will include an amendment in the Senate Blue Ribbon report stating that be believes that former SRA board members Roland Beltran representing the millers and Aurelio Gerardo “Bodie” Valderrama Jr. representing the planters were misled into singing the sugar order.
“They were misled to believe that the president wanted it”, he said, referring to the importation for 300,000 MT
“There is only one mastermind there if you ask me”, Zubiri said, but did not name the person.
The Blue Ribbon Committee recommended the filing of charges against Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian, former SRA Administrator Hermenegildo Serafica, and Beltran and Valderrama for the issuance of SO4.
The committee urged the Ombudsman to file graft charges against the four for alleged corrupt practices, violation of Republic Act 10845 or the anti-agricultural smuggling law, and usurpation of authority.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recalled SO4 because Malacañang said it was signed by Sebastian without his authority. Marcos chairs the SRA board as concurrent agriculture secretary.
Valderrama said he was asked by Serafica to sign SO4 on August 9. He told me the president needed it, Valderrama said.
In a meeting on August 4 the president had asked for the submission of an importation plan as soon as possible so he was not surprised when Serafica asked him to sign SO4, Valderrama said.
Valderrama said he did not immediately sign SO4 and told Serafica to give him a day to check and verify with the planters on the proposed importation.
He was then the first to sign SO4 after consulting with the planters, and it was then forwarded to Serafica. He had no knowledge that Sebastian later also signed SO4 in behalf of the president, Valderrama said.
Valderrama was appointed planters representative to the SRA Board by the president on August 2 and was replaced by Pablo Luis Azcona on August 20.
Beltran said he resigned from the SRA Board for health reasons and said goodbye to the agency on July 1 after the expiration of his tour of duty.
On July 29 he received an email from the SRA management informing him that he needed to stay in a holdover capacity and he reluctantly resumed his duties and responsibilities under pain of being accused of dereliction of duty.
When the SO4 controversy broke out he resigned from the SRA Board on August 14.
Zubiri said the Blue Ribbon Committee, when it has approved findings, automatically sends a copy to the Office of the Ombudsman.
They are hoping the Office of the Ombudsman will act on the recommendations of the committee on the sugar importation fiasco.
“It is not necessarily that we will have to file (a case), we will just send them the report, and motu proprio they can already start the investigation,” he said.
“Hopefully the Ombudsman will act on the recommendations,” he said.
Zubiri was in Bacolod for the groundbreaking of the Bacolod City General Hospital.*