Sugar Order 4 that would have opened the local market to 300,000 metric tons of imported sugar was kept from the entire staff of the agency, with only the board members made privy to it, an SRA source told Daily Tribune.

At the ongoing Senate Blue Ribbon panel hearing, resigned Sugar Regulatory Administration chief Hermenegildo Serafica admitted that he personally prepared SO 4 "together with his staff."

It was also established in the investigation that "the legal department and other assistant administrators were not aware of SO 4."

It gets worse, however, as an SRA source indicated that none of the SRA personnel "were involved in drafting SO 4."

Moreover, the SRA has submitted an importation proposal of a far less volume, at 155,000 MT.

The source said the proposal in a presidential briefer submitted by the SRA Deputies to the Department of Agriculture and Office of President, was totally different from SO4. It recommended only 155,000 MT of imports.

Based on the chronology given by the source, it was Serafica and the Philippine Sugar Millers Association led by miller Pablo Lobregat who came up with the final importation figure.

"Serafica and PSMA convinced the farmer groups that 300,000 MT was the right number and showed data for it. So the farmers agreed."

Serafica's narration during the Senate inquiry mentioned a meeting with the stakeholders on 29 July "where we presented the facts of the situation on the tightness of the supply and the rising prevailing prices in the market. So, the stakeholders were requested to submit on or before 3 August their recommendations."

'Absolutely' no knowledge of SO4

"I asked the SRA personnel and deputies and they had absolutely no knowledge of SO 4. Serafica or the board never met about it in any SRA office," according to the source.

The SRA board is composed of the DA chief who is the ex-officio chairman, the SRA chief as vice chairman, and two other members representing the millers and planters.