BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (NACUSIP), along with others, filed graft charges against Department of Agriculture (DA) Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban before the Office of the Ombudsman.
In a statement, NACUSIP president Roland Dela Cruz said Panganiban allegedly violated the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code on the usurpation of authority or official functions concerning the “sugar smuggling fiasco” in February.
The group claimed Panganiban allegedly allowed the importation of sugar without official authority to do so and “legitimized” smuggled sugar.
They further claimed that on Feb. 9, the 260×20-foot containers with bags of sugar arrived in Batangas Port without import permits, allegedly owned by All Asian Countertrade Inc.
Panganiban also allegedly issued Sugar Order No. 6 to effectively “cure” the lack of a permit for the said importation.
Dela Cruz said farmers and workers in the sugar industry have been gravely affected by the sudden influx of imported sugar into the market./PN
