In a letter-complaint addressed to President Arroyo, copies of which were furnished Rep. Benjamin Cruz and Customs chief Antonio Bernardo, the farmers said a certain Sgt. Rey Lascota apprehended their four trucks of rice at about 12:30 a.m. last May 16.
Amelia Tenorio, the group’s spokeswoman, said the shipment, made under the government’s Farmers as Importers Program, was fully documented and approved by the National Food Authority.