MANILA, Philippines - Two officials of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) are accused of involvement in the disappearance of some 3,000 bags of rice from Vietnam.
General manager Juan Santa Ana and assistant general manager for operations Raul Santos were charged with graft before the Office of the Ombudsman for their alleged conspiracy to hide the truth behind rice smuggling.
Filipino Alliance for Transparency and Empowerment (FATE) secretary-general Benjamin de Peralta filed the criminal and administrative complaint against the two.
Vinafoods Inc., a rice supplier from Vietnam, allegedly shipped 506,000 bags of rice to Manila through Harbour Center Port Terminal Inc. (HCPTI) and the South Harbor Center, according to the complaint.
“But recent discovery revealed that there were about 3,000 bags of rice that have gone missing since there were only 503,859 bags received by the National Food Authority (NFA),” read the complainant.
Respondents violated Republic Act 6713, the code of conduct and ethical standards for public officials and employees, and that the PPA should be held liable since HCPTI is “directly under the nose of the PPA,” FATE said.
FATE also claimed that they had asked “the respondents to investigate the reports of rice smuggling and other illegal activities in all port communities nationwide,” but no action was taken. “This is probably because of conspiracy between and among officials of HCPTI, PPA and the NFA to cover up the missing 3,000 bags of imported rice,” read the complainant.