MANILA – President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has named three new appointees to the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), Malacañang announced on Saturday.
Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez confirmed the appointments of David John Thaddeus Alba as SRA acting administrator, and Pablo Luis Azcona and Ma. Mitzi Mangwag as board members of the sugar regulatory body.
Alba replaces Hermenegildo Serafica who resigned as SRA administrator in the wake of the unauthorized signing of Sugar Order (SO) 4, a resolution allowing the importation of 300,000 metric tons (MT) of sugar.
Alba is the general manager of the planters' groups based in Negros Occidental, the Asociacion de Agricultores de La Carlota y Pontevedra and the La Carlota Mill District Multi-Purpose Cooperative.
Azcona and Mangwag, on the other hand, will represent sugar planters and sugar millers, respectively.
Malacañang has yet to release a copy of the appointment papers of the new SRA officials.
The SRA is a government-owned and -controlled corporation attached to the Department of Agriculture (DA), which Marcos currently heads.
The President is also the concurrent chair of the SRA.
On Wednesday, Marcos announced his plan to reorganize the SRA this week to address the current issues plaguing the sugar industry.
Malacañang earlier expressed dismay over the "illegal" signing of SO 4, which was rejected by Marcos.
Marcos said he would leave the investigation into the unauthorized sugar importation order to Congress.
Rodriguez's office, however, is also conducting a probe into the supposed efforts to use the fraudulent order to import 300,000 MT of sugar as "cover" for the hoarding of some sugar traders.
Apart from Serafica, DA Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian and SRA board member Roland Beltran also quit their respective posts after the sugar importation mess. (PNA)
