Sugar smuggling probe sought

SENATOR Risa Hontiveros calls for a public inquiry on the reported sugar smuggling that persists in the country.

In a press conference Tuesday, Hontiveros pointed out that her team uncovered some “discrepancies” on sugar imports which raised the possibility of sugar smuggling.

She reiterated her appeal to President Bongbong Marcos to appoint an agriculture secretary to help resolve issues concerning the agriculture sector.

“It seems that we haven’t learned our lessons from the last Blue Ribbon Committee hearing (on the sugar importation fiasco)… the institutional weaknesses on the implementation of economic laws, which have been identified during the last Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, remains to be there and these smugglers are taking advantage of it,” Hontiveros said.