President Bongbong Marcos has cleared former agriculture officials and those from the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) who were involved in the controversial Sugar Order Number 4.
The order was supposed to import 300,000 metric tons of sugar to the Philippines without the approval of President Marcos.
In a 10-page decision, the Office of the President said that those who were charged in the sugar order were “done in good faith.”
“From the totality of the evidence, this Office finds that the issuance of SO No. 4 was done in good faith absent any showing that the respondents were aware of their lack of authority,” the decision read.
The following were absolved by Marcos’ office:
former Agriculture undersecretary Leocadio S. Sebastian,
former SRA administrator Hermenegildo Serafica,
former SRA board member Roland Beltran, and
former SRA board member Aurelio Gerardo Valderrama, Jr.
“Here, respondents thought they were authorized because of miscommunication,” it added.
The four were initially charged with grave misconduct, gross dishonesty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service in connection with Sugar Order No. 4.
“In the instant case, SO No. 4 was prepared pursuant to a directive by the President to come up with an importation plan, the draft of which was sent to then ES Rodriguez. Having raised no objection therefore, respondents could have assumed its approval,” the OP said in its decision.
“In this case, there exists no clear and convincing evidence to suggest that the respondents committed any misconduct. Notably, there is no showing that respondents issued the subject order in order to materially benefit therefrom, and the surrounding circumstances extant absolve the respondents of any misconduct,” it added.
