Sugar body administrator resigns amid importation mess

Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) administrator Hermenegildo Serafica has resigned from his post amid the controversy involving Sugar Order No. 4 (SO 4), Allan Gatus reported on Super Radyo dzBB on Tuesday.

Citing a message from Serafica himself, Gatus said the resignation has already been accepted by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

An August 15, 2022 letter by Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez to Serafica -- a copy of which was provided to GMA News by Rodriguez himself -- said Marcos has accepted the resignation "effective immediately."

Engr. Hermenegildo Serafica resigned as Adminstrator of Sugar Regulatory Adminstration which the Office of the President has accepted @gmanewsbreaking @gmanews pic.twitter.com/bMwmd9FoXR

— Bernadette Reyes (@bernadettereyes) August 16, 2022

Serafica is the third official to quit his post in the aftermath of the SO 4 controversy after Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian and Atty. Roland Beltran, an SRA board member.

In a separate statement, Serafica said he had tendered his resignation on August 10 and he just waited for the President's acceptance of his resignation before making it public.

He said he is quitting from his post with a "clear conscience" amid the issue on the sugar importation. Serafica mentioned that he would go back to his first love, which is farming.

"Today, I am officially leaving my post with a light heart and clear conscience knowing that I performed the functions of my office consistent with, or within the bounds of the law," Serafica said.

"I never thought of becoming a public servant but I became one. It was a long and taxing job but definitely meaningful and I thank those who gave me this once in a lifetime opportunity to serve the sugarcane industry and the Filipino people," he said.

Marcos has also accepted Beltran's resignation "effective immediately," according to Rodriguez's letter to him also dated August 15, 2022.

Beltran represented sugar millers in the Sugar Board.

In a Facebook post, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles also confirmed Serafica and Beltran's resignations.

"We confirm the acceptance of Administrator of the Sugar Regulatory Administration Mr. Hermenegildo Serafica’s resignation, as well as the resignation of Atty. Roland Beltran of the Sugar Regulatory Board," she said.

SO 4 provided for the importation of 300,000 metric tons of sugar amid the increasing prices of the basic commodity.

Cruz-Angeles, however, deemed the order illegal, saying the Sugar Regulatory Board convened and issued a resolution without the approval of President Marcos, who currently sits as Agriculture secretary and also the board's chairperson. — with Anna Felicia Bajo/KBK/RSJ, GMA News