Sugar Farmers Want Immediate Appointment of SRA Head

More and more sugar planters are appealing for the urgent appointment of a new head of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) as well as asking previously appointed officials to leave their posts to address the issue of the expected sugar shortage in August.

The La Carlota Mill District Multi-Purpose Cooperative (LCMDMPC) and Associacion de Agricultores de la Carlota y Pontevedra Inc. (AALCPI) released a statement calling on former SRA head Hermenegildo Serafica to honor the directive of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos for all appointed government officials to vacate their posts as ordered in his Memorandum Order No. 1.

“We are urging Mr. Serafica to follow the rule of law and allow President Marcos a free hand to have a clean slate and appoint his team. This is crucial at this time when we need a fresh start amid the agricultural crisis we are in,” said the group in a joint statement.

The statement also adds that “If indeed Mr. Serafica has the best interest of the sugar industry in his heart, he must graciously leave the office and allow the new administration to appoint whom they believe is best suited for the position,”

While in a separate statement, Luzon Federation of Sugarcane Growers Association (LuzonFed)’s President Arnel Toreja joined the calls of other federations for Serafica to vacate the position so the new administration can set up a new team.

Toreja said that the group would consider and take a cue from the SRA Deputy Administrator and officer-in-charge (OIC) Ignacio Santillana as the head of the SRA while waiting for the appointment of a new administrator.

Source: Philstar