Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban has been designated as officer-in-charge of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) Malacañan Palace confirmed on Wednesday.
In a statement, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil said Panganiban would hold this position “until a new administrator is appointed.”
Former SRA administrator David John Thaddeus Alba stepped down from his post on March 24 due to his “worsening health,” Malacañang said.
“In the meantime, Usec. Panganiban is the OIC,” Azcona told reporters in a Zoom interview.
“As per SRA charter, in the event that there is no administrator, the chairman of the board takes over as the OIC until an administrator is appointed or the board assigns another OIC, usually the most senior deputy administrator,” he said.
On March 24, Malacañang announced that Alba resigned as SRA chief due to his “worsening health condition.”
His resignation took effect last Saturday, April 15.
David Alba’s resignation happened at the height of issues regarding the recent importation of 440,000 metric tons of sugar, which was supposedly allocated to 3 “handpicked” importers.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros had sought a Senate investigation into the issue, while the agriculture department said it would investigate claims of irregularities in the importation.