ALL ABOUT THE MONEY

August 27, 2022 Opinion

Its not really about the lack of sugar that brought about the crisis now rocking the new administration of President
Bongbong Marcos. Its really all about the money. Taking from the own words of no less than the Executive Secretary of the President, Victor Rodriguez who recently divulged to media that the brouhaha over the alleged illegal issuance of Sugar Order No. 4 for the importation of 3000,000 metric tons of sugar was actually a “cover” for certain sugar traders to release the sugar that they hoarded but couldn’t release it just yet since this would depress prices.

Whatever the reason, no amount of explanation would satisfy the public other than that some big and unscrupulous
traders are actually undermining the very economy of the nation by creating an artificial shortage of sugar. In
fact when the President ordered the Bureau of Customs, as well as other offices and agencies, to raid sugar warehouses and where they discovered an attempt to smuggle in 7,021 metric tons of sugar at the Subic Port in Zambales, only goes to show the greed and avarice blatantly displayed by some individuals and groups over how to profit at the expense of their countrymen.

It is not only that “heads should roll” as Malacanang Press Secretary Rose Beatrix Cruz-Angeles had recently announced after the alleged failed smuggling attempt was actually done by using an import permit that was
“recycled”, but what should be more important right now is to address the problem of how to stop the creation and
manufacturing of artificial shortages by greedy businessmen on basic commodities.

This is actually the issue that needs to be resolved at the earliest possible time and it must not only start at the Bureau of Customs (BOC) but should also include all sugar traders and millers in the country. The President should
not have issued a directive for the BOC or other concerned agencies, to raid sugar warehouses if only the Sugar
Regulatory Administration (SRA) was actually closely monitoring the importation and storage of sugar in these
warehouses. Of course, the predicament of the BOC and the SRA, as well as other concerned agencies is that they are riddled with corruption and it will only take a group of traders with oodles of money to make them turn a blind eye on the conduct of anomalous activities that are deemed detrimental to welfare of the public.

This has been going on already for quite some time. The only reason why there are situations like “artificial
shortages” in basic commodities is because someone or some group has decided to make a killing over it
by making it appear that the price of a basic commodity has risen exponentially because there is no available supply.
Then when the buying public has quietly accepted the deception these criminal businessmen start to sell these
commodities that they have hoarded and thus profit from the situation that they manipulated and created.

This is economic sabotage of the highest order and if President Bongbong Marcos is adamant in resolving the sugar crisis then he should start by identifying those who created the artificial shortage and prevent them from further
engaging in the sugar business aside from filing cases against them for their criminal acts that have endangered the economy of the country. If the government wants to be successful in investigating the sugar crisis and the “artificial shortage” then all they have to do is follow the money.