President Marcos swears in new SRA, Pagcor officials

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos yesterday swore in newly appointed officials of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) as the government stepped up efforts to address supply issues threatening to hike food and beverage prices.

Officials of SRA and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) were scheduled to take their oath before Marcos in Malacañang yesterday afternoon.

Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles confirmed that the oath-taking ceremony pushed through but the list of appointees was not immediately available.

The President has appointed David John Thaddeus Alba as acting SRA administrator, replacing Hermenegildo Serafica, who resigned from his post.

Other new appointees in the agency are Pablo Luis Azcona, who replaced Aurelio Gerardo Valderrama Jr. as representative of sugar planters, and Mitzi Mangwag, who succeeded Roland Beltran as representative of sugar millers.

Marcos reconstituted the Sugar Regulatory Board in the wake of a controversy involving the issuance of an order to import 300,000 metric tons of sugar without his permission.

Marcos cited the need to consume local supply and to ensure that the importation of agricultural products won’t be excessive.

The President, however, has said the Philippines may import 150,000 metric tons of sugar as the supply of the commodity is expected to dwindle in October.

The Marcos administration is also intensifying efforts against hoarding and smuggling to increase the supply of sugar in the market to lower the prices of the commodity.

Malacañang is convinced that the sugar shortage in the Philippines is “artificial” and caused by hoarding, citing the huge volume of sugar discovered in the inspections.

The Palace also claimed that the retail price of sugar in supermarkets and groceries in Metro Manila is now pegged at P70 per kilo.

“Reports reaching Malacañang showed that owners of supermarket and grocery chains have acceded to the request of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. for them to bring down the price of sugar to P70 per kilo, from a high of P90-P110 per kilo,” read a statement issued by the Office of the Press Secretary.

Last week, Marcos met with owners of Robinsons Supermarket, SM Supermarket and Puregold, when they all agreed to the suggested retail price of P70 per kilo of sugar and committed to unload one million kilos of sugar in their respective supermarkets starting yesterday.

The President has instructed the trade department to monitor participating retailers’ compliance with the agreed purchase limit of one kilo per consumer to ensure that more consumers can avail themselves of the lower-priced sugar.

House probes SO4

The House committees on good government and public accountability and of agriculture have confirmed the “illegality” of Sugar Order No. 4 (SO4) after subjecting officials of the SRA and Department of Agriculture (DA) to a grilling at yesterday’s joint inquiry.

During the hearing, Serafica said President Marcos instructed him to craft an importation program, adding that they consulted stakeholders but the joint panel found this to be illegal without the authorization of the President.

This was corroborated by resigned DA undersecretary Leocardio Sebastian, who pointed out that the urgency of the situation prompted him to sign SO4.

The two officials, however, confirmed that they submitted SO4 to Malacañang but did not get a reply.

Cavite 4th District Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. refuted that the authority to convene the SRA board and sign such SO is “solely granted to the Agriculture Secretary as SRA board chairman,” while Antipolo City 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop said there were signs that the SO4 was irregular.

Committee on good government and public accountability chair and San Jose del Monte, Bulacan Rep. Florida Robes gave assurance that the joint committee would thoroughly investigate the matter.

For her part, House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro said that resigning from their post is not enough consequence for the questionable transaction. – Gilbert Bayoran, Sheila Crisostomo