Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 8) — The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Monday postponed the hearing on the alleged state-sponsored smuggling of sugar due to the absence of some officials from the executive, including Agriculture Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban.
This is the second postponement of the hearing. The committee was supposed to conduct its initial hearing on April 25 but had to reschedule as resource persons, including Panganiban, were abroad.
Sen. Francis Tolentino, who chairs the committee, also noted the absence of National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, former Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) chief David John Alba, and Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual — saying “they would have given critical information and testimony” to the investigation.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin told the panel that the officials — only referring to the incumbent Cabinet officials — had prior scheduled engagements.
He said Balisacan was in Vancouver while Pascual was in Indonesia for a ministerial-level conference and is going to stay until the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. Both will be away until May 11.
Panganiban, he said, is in Washington D.C. on an official mission until May 13.
Alba, meanwhile, is in Australia until June for “personal reasons,” according to a letter submitted to the senator. Bersamin said this may be health reasons as the former SRA administrator resigned due to being in “dire health condition.”
The executive secretary also affirmed that he could promise the presence of the absent officials in the next hearing.
“The executive secretary, your honor, will always be at your disposal,” Bersamin said.
A lot of questions hanging
The hearing only conducted the administering of oaths of resource persons present.
Deputy minority leader Sen. Risa Hontiveros and Sen. JV Ejercito said they would have asked a lot of questions, especially to the “vital” resource persons.
In her opening statement, Hontiveros said: “Higit sa lahat gusto ko sana matanong si Usec Panganiban: Saan sila humuhugot ng tapang? Sino ang nagbibigay ng go-signal? May mga mataas na opisyal ba na dapat managot dito? O may nagbibida-bida lang at gumawa ng sariling desisyon? And I want to ask these questions, Mr. Chair, in full view of the public, sa harap ng sambayanang Pilipino, the way we did for the first sugar hearing.”
[Translation: Most of all, I wanted to ask Usec Panganiban: Where does he get the courage? Who is giving the go-signal? Are there high-ranking officials that should be held accountable? Or are there people who want to make their own decisions?]
In February, Hontiveros alleged that the government may have participated in “government-sponsored smuggling” after a shipment of sugar arrived in the country ahead of the effectivity of Sugar Order No. 6.
The order, which became effective on Feb. 18, allowed the importation of 440,000 metric tons of the commodity, on which Panganiban was one of the signatories.
Only All Asian Countertrade Inc., Sucden Philippines, and Edison Lee Marketing Corp. were granted the authority to cover the whole importation — something that would have “raised eyebrows from a policy perspective,” Hontiveros said.
A shipment of sugar in 260 20-foot containers arrived in Batangas port on Feb. 9, reportedly imported by All Asian Countertrade Inc., Hontiveros previously said.
She also presented a photo to the Blue Ribbon Committee showing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., House Speaker Martin Romualdez, and Panganiban with some sugar traders.
“Kaya ang pinakamahalaga ko sigurong tanong: totoo ba ang photo na ito? At kung totoo, kailan ito kinuha?” the senator asked.
[Translation: My most important question is: Is the photo true? If so, when was it taken?]
Hontiveros also said that from the evidence she has seen so far, the controversy is a “case of ignorance or violation of our laws by government implementors at best, and state-sponsored smuggling at worst.”
CNN Philippines correspondent Eimor Santos and digital producer Jelo Ritzhie Mantaring contributed to this story.
