Who masterminded ship’s escape? DoF exec can’t tell

CEBU CITY — The incredible saga of the MV Great Faith and its cargo of smuggled rice was a product of a grand conspiracy within the Bureau of Customs.

But this much was all Finance Undersecretary Cornelio Hizon could tell a congressional hearing here the other day for his efforts as head of a task force that investigated one of the most mysterious disappearances of an entire ship in the country’s history.

As to who was the brains behind the conspiracy, Hizon absolutely had no idea, prompting members of the congressional panel to suspect that he was protecting some "sacred cows."

"It seems there are some sacred cows that you are trying to protect," said Rep. Clavel Asas Martinez.

"Is there an attempt to downplay the results?," said Rep. Antonio Cuenco. "To my mind, this report is empty if it cannot cite the mastermind."

But a conspiracy was all that Hizon said the investigation could determine.

"We believe there was a conspiracy. Two conspiracies, actually. First was from the apprehension of the vessel up to the time it was ordered released. Second was from the time it was ordered forfeited up to the disappearance of the vessel," Hizon told the House committee on good government.

He said there is reason to believe that the participants in the first conspiracy might have been also involved in the second.

The Great Faith and its cargo of 20,000 bags of smuggled rice were single-handedly apprehended by deputy Customs collector Santiago Maravillas on Sept. 13, 2001.

The following day, he issued a warrant of seizure and detention.

On Oct. 2, Maravillas’ immediate boss, Cebu Customs collector Roberto Sacramento, ordered the lifting of the warrant and ordered the release of the ship and its cargo.

On Dec. 12, Customs Commissioner Titus Villanueva reversed Sacramento’s order and ordered instead the forfeiture of the vessel and its cargo in favor of the government. The ship disappeared on Christmas Eve. — Freeman News Service