Hontiveros says Rodriguez accountable for keeping mum on meeting on sugar importation

Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros on Thursday said that former Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez should be held accountable for being evasive in confirming if the August 4 hybrid meeting, where the plan to import sugar into the country was discussed, really took place.

“Iche-check daw nila, babalikan daw nila kami sa Blue Ribbon kung may meeting, eh andoon siya sa meeting. What smoke and mirrors is this?” Hontiveros said in a statement.

In the previous Senate blue ribbon committee hearings on the alleged illegal issuance of Sugar Order No. 4, resigned Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) chief Hermenegildo Serafica disclosed that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. supposedly mentioned the importation of 600,000 metric tons of sugar in a hybrid meeting last August 4.

Former SRA board member Aurelio Gerardo Valderrama Jr. affirmed Serafica’s claim but it was denied by Rodriguez, saying that there was no truth that Marcos pitched for such volume of sugar.

During her interpellation on the Senate blue ribbon panel's report on Wednesday, Hontiveros said Rodriguez, like Serafica and Valderrama, should also be reprimanded for not divulging the details of the said meeting at the start of the Senate investigation when he presented a supposed timeline of events.

“In the last hearing, I proposed that the committee request for a copy of the zoom recording of the meeting. Was that request ever made? I still insist that request is valid and reasonable because the committee report itself mentions that meeting,” she said.

“This is not to kick a man when he is already out, but it is material because former Administrator Serafica and former Board Member Valderrama are being accused of not disclosing right away the mention of the 600,000 MT. Just based on fairness, kung kakastiguhin natin sina Serafica dahil mayroon silang hindi sinabi agad sa ating Komite sa simula ng ating imbestigasyon tingin ko lamang ay kailangan ding kastiguhin si Mr. Rodriguez,” she added.

Hontiveros stressed that Rodriguez did not report back to the Senate to inform the panel if the said meeting really took place. This, she said, is blatant disrespect to the Senate as an institution.

“An important point that needs to be made here is that despite the request of the Blue Ribbon Committee ay hindi tumugon, hindi tumupad si ES. In that instance, nagpakita na walang paggalang sa Senado,” Hontiveros said.

“A second important point is that the Blue Ribbon Chair should have tied up this loose end, even if he himself may believe that the contents of the meeting will not change anything. The credibility of the proceedings can only improve if pre-judgments are avoided,” she added.

GMA News Online asked Rodriguez to comment on Hontiveros' latest statement but he has yet to respond as of posting time.

Sugar is in the spotlight following the controversial issuance of SO 4, which would've allowed the importation of 300,000 metric tons of sugar.

SO 4 was later deemed “illegal” by Malacañang as it was reportedly signed without the knowledge and expressed approval of Marcos, who currently heads the Department of Agriculture.—LDF, GMA News