Personalities tagged in rice smuggling no-show at Senate

MANILA, Philippines - Personalities suspected of involvement in rice smuggling in the country again failed to attend the hearing of the Senate committee on food and agriculture yesterday.

Suspected big-time rice smuggler Davidson Bangayan, who was cited for contempt by the Senate, is reportedly confined at the Laoag General Hospital. 

He sent a letter through his lawyer, saying that he did not have a contract with Vina Foods, which is engaged in rice exportation in Vietnam.

Broker Elizabeth Faustino sent word that she will undergo gall bladder surgery while authorities are still clueless on the whereabouts of Leah Echeveria of the D-Uranium Enterprises in Lapu-Lapu City.

Committee chairman Sen. Cynthia Villar directed Senate doctors and the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms to determine Faustino’s medical condition.

Senate records showed that Faustino was “consolidator” of the late Nixon Kua, a former journalist who reportedly got involved in rice trading.

Faustino also has reported links with farmers’ cooperatives identified as Formosa Multi-Purpose Cooperative owned by Ricardo Gatuz Jr., Riverview Multi-Purpose Cooperative (Juanito Evangelista), Ugnayang Magsasaka sa Kaunlaran MPC (Felix Villena Sr.), GPI San Miguel MPC (Alfredo Cruz), Sitio Muzon Farmers MPC (Ronaldo Valdez) and Sta. Cecilia MPC (Zenaida Abanio).

Villar directed her staff to coordinate with the embassy of Vietnam to enable the Senate to get copies of the purported contract between Bangayan and Vina Foods.

She also reiterated the need for the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to intensify efforts to locate Echeveria, who has been evading the inquiries since the Senate started hearings on rice smuggling  in 2012.

“We have already located the place where supposedly Ms. Echeveria is residing but we are yet to locate the person of Ms. Echeveria,” NBI lawyer Romulo Asis said.

Villar took to task Emmanuel Santos, head of the Jade Brothers Farm and Livelihood Livestock Inc., for giving the senators a runaround on the rice importation issue.

Santos has been associated with the Medalla de Oro Trading and Jade Brothers Farm and Livestock Inc., where is he said to be a major stockholder. He maintained that he is an accredited rice importer at the Bureau of Customs.

NFA deputy administrator Ludovico Jarina, however,  said the agency has filed charges and did not issue import permits to Santos’ companies.

No import permits

Customs Commissioner John Philip Sevilla said the firms associated with Santos imported rice but the firms did not have permits.

“The fact that the firms did not have import permits came from the NFA,” he said.

“Are you a smuggler or are you lying? If you don’t have an import permit and yet you import, that means you’re a smuggler. If you say you imported, are you lying? ” Villar said.

“You told us that you imported rice but you did not have an import permit, so you are a smuggler,” she added.

Villar warned Santos he would be cited in contempt in the next hearing if he would remain evasive.

OSG brings issues to SC

In the same hearing, Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza revealed the government has brought the issues concerning the domestic laws on quantitative restrictions on rice importation and the World Trade Organization agreement to the Supreme Court.

“The OSG wishes to inform the committee  that last Friday, the OSG filed a petition for certiorari to invalidate the permanent injunction issued by the RTC of Davao. That order formally enjoined the Bureau of Customs, NFA and the DA from enforcing hold and seizure orders,” he said. “The position of the government is that the quantitative restrictions continue to be valid.”

The OSG will also appeal before the High Court the injunctions issued by local courts in the Manila and Batangas.

Meanwhile, Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito said the Senate should look into reports of overpricing of rice in the country in the wake of smuggling activities.

“This should be investigated regardless of the fact that this is a government-to-government (with Vietnam) transaction,” he said.