2 ex-SRA officials were ‘misled,’ says Zubiri

Sen. Juan Miguel “Migz” F. Zubiri (Photos from the Office of the Senate President)

MANILA, Philippines — Two former Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) board members were misled into signing an importation order for 300,000 metric tons of sugar without the approval of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who is also agriculture secretary, according to Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri.

“They were misled to believe that the president wanted it,” said Zubiri, who was in Bacolod on Friday for the groundbreaking of Bacolod City General Hospital.

He was referring to former SRA board members Roland Beltran and Aurelio Gerardo “Bodie” Valderrama Jr.

“There is only one mastermind if you ask me,” the Senate president said, adding that he would ask the blue ribbon committee, led by Sen. Francis Tolentino, to amend its report to reflect this belief.

The committee released the report on its investigation on Thursday and recommended the filing of charges against Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian, former SRA Administrator Hermenegildo Serafica, Beltran, and Valderrama for the issuance of Sugar Order No. 4.

The committee urged the Ombudsman to file charges of corruption, violation of Republic Act No. 10845, or the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Law, and usurpation of authority against the four officials.

Lookout bulletin

The committee also asked the Bureau of Immigration to include Sebastian, Serafica, Beltran, and Valderrama in the agency’s lookout bulletin.

But Valderrama said he was asked by Serafica to sign SO 4 on Aug. 9.

“He (Serafica) told me the President needed it,” Valderrama said and since the president asked for an importation plan in a meeting on Aug. 4, Valderrama was no longer surprised when Serafica asked him to sign the document.

Valderrama said he was the first to sign the document after he consulted with sugar planters and he could not have known that Sebastian would later sign the document on behalf of the president.

Beltran, for his part, said he resigned from the SRA Board on July 1 for health reasons and only signed the document as a board member because he was told to stay in a holdover capacity.

Another official embroiled in the scandal was Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez, who was blamed for SO 4, although he did not sign the document and the four board members admitted he never told them to sign the document or that Marcos approved of the importation.

In the Senate blue ribbon hearing on Sept. 6, Rodriguez was cleared of any liability.

Among the committee recommendations were the amendment of Republic Act No. 10659, or the Sugarcane Industry Development Act of 2015, to inject transparency and accountability in issuing import permits and the replacement of Executive Order No. 18, signed in 1986.

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