Absence of Panganiban, other guests delays 'Sugar Fiasco 2.0' Senate probe anew
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate Blue Ribbon committee postponed Monday for the second time its inquiry into what has been dubbed “Sugar Fiasco 2.0” as resource persons considered by the panel to be vital to the investigation, including Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban, were absent due to prior commitments abroad.
Citing Senate rules, panel chairperson Sen. Francis Tolentino moved to reschedule.
“They are vital to the investigation that this committee will be undertaking. That’s why we might have a hard time if we were to continue without them,” Tolentino said in Filipino.
Aside from Panganiban, Tolentino also noted the absence of National Economic Development Authority chief Arsenio Balisacan, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual and former Sugar Regulatory Administration chief David John Alba.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin explained that Panganiban is on “official mission” in Washington, while Balisacan is in Vancouver for a “prior scheduled trip".
Pascual is in Indonesia for a ministerial-level conference and the ASEAN Summit.
“All of these three, your honor, would have come here if the schedule were different, but it happens that their trips coincided with our meeting today,” Bersamin said.
This is the second time that the Blue Ribbon hearing on the alleged anomalous importation of sugar was postponed because resource persons were absent and abroad.
In April, the panel also postponed what would have been its first hearing into the issue "in view of the foreign official trips and therefore the non-availability of several important resource persons."
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who called for the inquiry when she filed a resolution way back in February, expressed “serious disappointment” at Panganiban’s absence.
She said she would have wanted to know why Panganiban picked only three sugar traders to give import allocations to and why he thought sugar can be imported even without a sugar order.
“Most of all, I would have wanted to ask Usec. Panganiban: Where are you getting your courage? Who is giving the go-signal? Are there high officials who should answer for this? Or is there just someone who wants to be the center of attention and makes their own decisions?” Hontiveros said in Filipino.
She continued, “I want to ask these questions, Mr. Chair, in full view of the public, in front of the Filipino people, the way we did for the first sugar hearing.”
While Hontiveros insists that the importation of 440,000 metric tons of sugar without a valid sugar order was wrong, Panganiban points to a January 13 memorandum as the basis for proceeding with importing the sweetener.
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