No Performance Bond

NO PERFORMANCE BOND: Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, during the hybrid Blue Ribbon Committee investigation Tuesday, August 30, 2022, asks former Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) chief Hermenegildo Serafica to why the agency did not require sugar importers to post performance bond in the botched importation of 300,000 metric tons of sugar. While Serafica said that the SRA merely tried to shield consumers from the added cost that importers will impose, Estrada contradicted his claims saying that the agency failed to protect government interests as the performance bond would have guaranteed the traders’ compliance to existing rules and regulations concerning the importation of refined sugar. (Joseph Vidal/Senate PRIB)