MANILA, Philippines - The Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food has confirmed allegations that ranking officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) had a hand in the smuggling of 42,000 sacks of white rice from India, which landed in the Philippines after the goods were rejected by Indonesia.
After the panel's Wednesday's inquiry into the alleged rice smuggling, committee member Sen. Ralph Recto concluded that the SBMA had conspired with smugglers in illegally bringing the contraband into the country.
According to Recto, it was somebody from the SBMA who told the importer to bring the goods to Subic while a government permit was being processed so that the rice could be sold in the local market.
“May sabwatan mula doon sa private company, sa locator, SBMA pa ang nagpakilala na nagsabing sige dalhin ninyo sa Subic, at papayagan namin na pumasok sa port of entry at kayo ang mag-warehouse habang naghahanap kami ng paraan upang makakuha ng lisensiya mula sa pamahalaan at makapasok sa merkado ang produkto,” Recto said.
The contraband arrived in Subic on April 4, 2012 after the Indonesian government refused the entry of the goods on March 19, 2012. The ship, MV Vinalines, that carried the sacks of rice docked in Singapore for bunkering on March 29, 2012 before it sailed to the Philippines.
The shipper of the rice imports is Amira Foods India Limited, while the consignee is Metroestern Trading Corporation, a locator at the SBMA, according to data from the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
The ship's captain failed to show to the BOC any documents for the imported cargoes, which should have had a valid permit from the Philippine National Food Authority (NFA).
NFA administrator Angelito Banayo denied that Metroestern had participated in any of the NFA’s open rice importation for 2012.
But documents show that a memorandum of agreement between Meroestern and Amira Foods was signed on March 26, 2012. Also, another document showed that a memorandum of undertaking between the NFA and Amira Foods was signed by Banayo on June 6, 2012.
On May 15, 2012, authorities held the cargoes through a warrant of seizure and detention issued by Subic Port District Collector Errol Albano.
Committee chairman Sen. Francis Pangilinan said those who were found to have a hand in the alleged smuggling of rice could already be slapped with administrative charges. But he said more information and pieces of evidence were needed by the committee for the filing of criminal charges against the violators.
"Siguro administrative puwede, pero on the criminal side, we need...an airtight case, so we need more hearings on these,” Pangilinan said.
So far what is certain is that there was "connivance" between government agencies and the smugglers "particularly the SBMA," according to the senator.
"Maraming dapat ipaliwanag ang SBMA, kaysa sa BOC, mas maraming dapat ipaliwanag ang SBMA at private locator [The SBMA and the locator have a lot more to explain than the BOC]," Pangilinan said.
source: interaksyon.com
