Palace vows extensive probe into ‘illegal’ sugar imports

FILE PHOTO Arnel Pongyan, 36, repacks sugar at a Tandang Sora Public Market stall on Friday, May 27, 2022. The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said the sugar shortage is due to the destruction brought about by typhoon Odette in Negros, which caused prices to spike.
INQUIRER / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

MANILA, Philippines — The investigation called by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. following the “illegal” resolution that supposedly authorized the importation of 300,000 metric tons of sugar in the country will be “extensive,” the Palace said Friday.

According to Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles, the investigation will cover more than just the resolution’s release.

“Wala lang po kaming ipapahayag sa ngayon tungkol sa mga plano (We cannot say anything right now about the plans) because the investigation will probably cover a more extensive review than simply the resolution that was issued by the Sugar Regulatory Board,” Cruz-Angeles said during the Laging Handa briefing.

The Palace spokesperson stressed that “heads will roll” if it the probe would discover that poor judgment led to the signing of the importation resolution, which she said the President, who heads the Sugar Regulatory Board and the Department of Agriculture concurrently, did not authorize.

“The moment na nalaman ng President na may maling nangyari dito nag-order agad ng imbestigasyon. Sinu-sino ang involved dito, ano ‘yung extent ng kanilang involvement? Was it attended with malice, was it negligence, was it simply just bad judgment?” Cruz-Angeles said.

(The moment the President found out about this, he immediately ordered an investigation. Who were  the people involved here and what was the extent of their involvement?)

“If there are sufficient findings, then heads will roll,” she added.

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