As the Senate Minority bloc released a report disputing some of the findings of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee about the recent sugar importation fiasco, Senator Risa Hontiveros emphasized on Tuesday that Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez is not “blameless” in the matter.
“Kami po sa minority, kami ni Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, ay gumawa ng hiwalay na report ukol dito sa tinawag nating sugar fiasco dahil hindi kami sang-ayon sa report na ipinasa ng Senate Majority bloc,” she emphasized in a statement.
“With all due respect, their version of the report failed to answer the real questions that will help address the sugar fiasco,” Hontiveros added.
The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s “silence” regarding Rodriguez’s accountability was brought to light by the Senate Minority Bloc report, according to her: “It was unfortunate that the Blue Ribbon report had failed or purposely refrained to discuss the part played by Executive Secretary Rodriguez in this unfortunate debacle.”
The Executive Secretary’s unilateral decision to sit on it, the lawmaker said, “contributed to the debacle. It was clear to us early on that all communications related to the issuance of S.O. No. 4 were timely and clearly communicated to the Executive Secretary.”
She also said the recommendation to file criminal and administrative charges against suspended Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian, former Sugar Regulatory Administration chief Hermegenildo Serafica, and former Sugar Board members Roland Beltran and Aurelio Gerardo Valderrama Jr. seemed to be “disproportionately punitive.”
Hontiveros emphasized, “Walang basehan at hindi makatarungan kung kakasuhan pa sila. Hindi dapat pinagdidiskitahan ng administrasyon ang mga empleyado ng gobyerno na ginagawa lang naman ang trabaho nila.”
Consumers and employees in the sugar sector shouldn’t be caught in the middle of this mess, according to her. The senator continued by saying that their welfare should always come first.
“Napilitan nang isuspinde ang ilang planta ng malalaking kompanya to the point na naka-forced leave without pay ang mga manggagawa. Maging ang maliliit na bakeries, turon, at palamig vendors, ay umaaray. The sugar shortage has very dangerous and real consequences for Filipino workers and Filipino consumers. It has to be addressed as soon as possible,” she said.
Photo Credit: Senate website