Sugar federation reiterates call for probe into fake quedans

BACOLOD CITY — The National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) reiterated its call for the speedy investigation on the fake quedans that have been used as collateral for bank loans.

“Only through immediate investigation and prosecution of the guilty parties can the sanctity and integrity of the sugar quedans be restored,” NFSP president Enrique Rojas said in a letter to the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) chief Ma. Regina Martin.

A quedan is a document certifying to the amount of sugar a planter has to his credit at a sugar mill. The instrument may be traded among merchants who then, armed with the quedan, may claim the corresponding amount of the commodity from the mill.

Rojas was referring to the recent discovery of fake quedans or permits for over 500,000 50-kilo (Lkg) bags of sugar for both “B” or domestic and “D” or world markets.

The “D” sugar quedans, which were already submitted to the SRA by the United Coconut Planters Bank UCPB, were allegedly issued by Hawaiian Philippine Co. and Central Azucarera de La Carlota Inc. (Caci) in Negros Occidental representing 156,596.86 Lkg bags and 173,156.94 bags, respectively, Rojas noted.

SRA has already certified that the serial numbers of the “D” quedans allegedly issued by HPCo and Caci “are not within the range printed and issued by the SRA official printer,” Rojas added.

Caci chairman Pedro Roxas had informed Martin in a letter dated May 6 about quedan listings forwarded by United Coconut Planters Bank and the Philippine Business Bank.

Roxas said CACI confirmed that it had not issued the quedans in question and that they have been found to be counterfeit.

Both mills have also publicly denied that they issued the counterfeit quedans, he noted.

For his part, Rojas cited the importance of ensuring that sugar quedans would not be faked.

“Sugar quedans are negotiable instruments on which the integrity of the sugar industry depends. This massive counterfeiting of sugar quedans translates to large-scale estafa and diminishes the negotiability of the quedans, to the disadvantage of sugar producers,” Rojas said. /INQUIRER