DUE TO CABINET MEETING

Rodriguez skips 2nd day of Senate probe on sugar import mess

Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez on Tuesday skipped the Senate blue ribbon committee's second hearing into the sugar importation controversy due to a Cabinet meeting in Malacañang.

Committee chairman Senator Francis Tolentino informed the panel that the Cabinet meeting coincided with the schedule of the second hearing on alleged unauthorized issuance of Sugar Order No. 4 (SO 4), which would've allowed the importation of 300,000 metric tons of sugar.

"The good executive secretary will not be able to attend today's hearing because there is a Cabinet meeting right now, 9 a.m., at the same time while we are having this committee hearing. We will again issue another invitation for him to attend the next hearing," Tolentino said.

He said he was only informed about the Cabinet meeting by a source and "not through the usual course of communication."

Tolentino disclosed this after Senator Risa Hontiveros questioned the absence of Rodriguez, recalling the motion she made last Tuesday requiring the Palace official's attendance in the succeeding hearings.

"Just for the record, regrettable 'yung Cabinet meeting na dahil kung bakit pagkatapos ng presentation nila nung unang hearing ay umalis agad si ES, hindi na natin natanong ang ating mga tanong. Ngayon 'yun ulit ang dahilan kung bakit wala sila rito," Hontiveros said.

(Just for the record, it's regrettable, that Cabinet meeting. It was why ES had to leave early during the previous hearing. Today that's the same reason why he's not here.)

Rodriguez attended the first hearing on SO 4 last Tuesday, but senators were not able to ask him many questions as he had to leave early for a Cabinet meeting.

Hontiveros then asked the panel if it is possible to direct Rodriguez to attend the hearing just like how it required resigned Sugar Regulatory Administrator Hermenegildo Serafica to physically attend the first hearing.

Tolentino, during the day's hearing, directed the Senate blue ribbon committee secretary to send a follow-up invitation to Rodriguez.

"The committee secretary is directed to make a follow-up invitation to the executive secretary today in case the Cabinet meeting would be terminated earlier than the blue ribbon committee hearing," he said.

GMA News Online has reached out to Rodriguez for his comment, but he has yet to respond as of posting time.

At a briefing in Malacañang later in the day, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles confirmed that Rodriguez attended the Cabinet meeting.

"May Cabinet meeting po kami. Binibigyan natin ng napakataas na respeto ang isang co-equal branch so I assume na magi-explain naman po si Executive Secretary. So we'll wait po on the response of the ES tungo doon sa pagtatanong ng ating legislature," Cruz-Angeles said.

(We have our Cabinet meeting. We give high respect to our co-equal branch so I assume the Executive Secretary will explain. So we'll wait for the response of the ES on the queries of the legislative branch.)

Asked to comment on the claim that the Palace was "misled" on the alleged shortage in sugar supply, Cruz-Angeles reiterated that they would wait for the result of the investigation on the sugar importation issue before making comment on the matters raised during the Senate probe.

"Hihintayin po natin 'yung resulta ng imbestigasyon kung kaya't 'di po tayo magi-issue ng konkretong komento o response doon sa mga nangyayari habang ongoing pa po 'yung investigation," she said.

(We will wait for the result of the probe that's why we will not issue a concrete investigation on the happenings while the Senate probe is ongoing.)

On Monday, at least three senators said it is too early to clear Rodriguez of any liability over the drafting of SO 4, which Malacañang said was an illegal order as it was not approved by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., the current Agriculture secretary.

Last week, former Agriculture undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian said he signed SO 4 based on the authority given to him by Rodriguez through a memorandum.

Sebastian said that the July 15 memorandum stated "that I will sit as ex officio chairman or member of all duly constituted administration, committees, councils, boards, bodies where the Secretary of Agriculture is a member."

In his opening statement during the first hearing, Rodriguez said they only learned during a meeting that the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) had passed a resolution, through Sebastian, approving the import order without submitting the import plan and without the knowledge of Marcos.

He also said he confronted Sebastian over the matter. —with Anna Felicia Bajo/KBK, GMA News