BIZ BUZZ: SRA commotion
Another day, another headache for President and Agriculture chief Marcos.
Confusion is growing with the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) over who should lead the agency amid the looming shortage of sweetener supply.
Biz Buzz learned that Hermenegildo Serafica refused to make way for the next SRA chief, and said he was not covered by the President’s first directive.
Declared by Memorandum Circular No. 1 (MC 1) vacant some positions starting June 30.
This includes presidential appointees whose appointments are classified as coterminous and those occupying positions created beyond the authorized staffing pattern, as well as noncareer executive service officials who occupy career executive service positions and contractual. or casual employees.
Following Mr. Marcos’ directive, SRA deputy administrators Guillermo Tejida III, Brando Noroña and Ignacio Santillana issued a joint memorandum appointing Santillana as the officer in charge (OIC) of the SRA. The SRA website also shows Santillana as the OIC.
Serafica then issued a memo saying the SRA administrator as appointive director in a government -owned and -controlled corporation (GOCC) was not among the positions covered by MC 1.
He explained that the SRA administrator, despite being a presidential appointee, is not a coterminous appointee and career executive service position, meaning he is not required to leave the SRA once Rodrigo Duterte ends his six -year term last month.
Serafica said he was allowed by Republic Act No. 10149, a law governing GOCCs, to remain in holdover capacity even beyond the end of the Duterte administration “until a successor is appointed and qualified.”
He even sought the help of the legal office of the Department of Agriculture, Governance Commission for GOCCs and Presidential Management Staff to protect the office “from usurpation of authority or abandonment of the same.”
According to an insider, the SRA office is currently in turmoil due to leadership turmoil. The employees ’association, meanwhile, is expected to issue a manifesto declaring support for Santillana.
Judging by the situation, Mr. Marcos, who is already facing a ton of challenges in the agricultural sector, needs to act quickly to fix the house before it’s all too late.
—Jordeene B. Lagare
Milestone of the Emperor
Following the traditional dance of the lucky dragons and the beating of the gong by tycoon Andrew Tan and SGX Group CEO Loh Boon Chye, Emperor Inc. is now officially listed. on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX), making it the leading global manufacturer, bottler and distributor of brandy, Scotch whiskey and other alcoholic beverages the first Philippine company primarily listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange to also trade on SGX.
Tan, who heads the Emperor, said he was “extremely grateful for the moment” and described Thursday’s listing on SGX as an important milestone for the company that started in 1979 as a small plant in Manila, because it “boosts globalization” of the company whose brands include The Dalmore, Fettercairn, Jura and Singleton Scotch whiskey, Founder and Emperor brandy.
The list also filled the Emperor’s director Kevin Tan with pride and evoked happy childhood memories of sticking labels on the Emperor’s bottles at a cost of P150 per day. He grew up with the Emperor, who was formed the year before he was born.
The younger Tan said the group’s eyes are focused on the mission to earn at least half of its annual revenue from outside the Philippines by 2025, with the single malt category represented by apex brand The Dalmore leading the way. charge.
—Tina Arceo-Dumlao
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