Officials of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Sugar Regulatory Administrator (SRA) on Tuesday pronounced their readiness to defend Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban on the graft charges he is facing in connection to alleged illegal 444,000 sugar importation in the country.
In an interview with the media, DA spokesperson deputy Rex Estoperez said they are ready to answer any question of the Office of the Ombudsman to clarify things and they are willing to submit any necessary documents.
“Ang sa amin lang naman, maging transparent lang dapat ang ating pong proseso,” he said, adding that the agriculture department and Panganiban are not hiding anything.
Meanwhile, SRA acting administrator Pablo Azcona declared his support for Estoperes as he faces a probe on the sugar importation.
“I will support the Usec. We know that the program [sugar order] worked based on a farmer’s point of view. The prices are stable. It is ₱85 to ₱110 for I don’t know how many months. We did not see any spike,” he said in a separate interview with reporters.
On Monday, Panganiban was charged with usurpation of official functions and violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry-Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries' Council and the Alternatiba ng Masa party list filed the raps before the Office of the Ombudsman.
The charges stem from his alleged involvement in the suspected illegal importation of 444,000 metric tons of refined sugar ahead of the issuance of Sugar Order No. 6 last February.
Panganiban earlier revealed before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee that President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Maros Jr. ordered the importation of 444,000 metric tons of sugar for selected importers in a bid to stabilize the sugar prices in the market.
