JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla yesterday said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is looking at former and current government officials who might be involved in the smuggling of agricultural products, particularly garlic and onion.
Remulla said they are still validating the information that the garlic-onion smuggling operations have been operating for 15 years already, or since 2008, and may involve bribes running “in the billions of pesos.”
Remulla’s statement came a day after President Marcos Jr. warned smugglers and hoarders of agricultural products during his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday that their days are numbered.
The President has said the government will file charges against the syndicates and called on Congress to amend the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act.
Remulla said in a press briefing: “We will be calling on government agencies involved in the regulatory process to give us the necessary documents. We need na kunin itong mga regulatory permits to be able to validate the information and we will be asking them in the next few weeks to help us validate the information we have.”
He said the DOJ are looking at several names, including former government officials.
“We are suspecting some, may mga tinitingnan tayong mga tao na maaaring titigan pa na maaaring may kinalaman sa mga pangyayari na naiisahan ang bansa at nagagawan ng paraan na tumaas ang presyo ng mga produkto sa merkado ang sinasabi natin dito ay sibuyas at bawang (We are looking at some individuals that may be involved in this, including those that may be behind the increase in the prices of products in the market, we are talking here about onion and garlic),” the DOJ chief said.
“Marami tayong pangalan na nais tingnan na mula sa iba’t ibang agencies na may kinalaman sa pagbibigay ng permit sa pagpasok ng mga commodities, kasama na dito ang Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Plant Industry, and other offices sa Department of Agriculture at ‘yung mga may impluwensya sa supply side ng agricultural commodities (There are names that we would like to take a look at coming from several agencies involved in issuing permits for the entry of commodities including the Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Plant Industry and other offices in the Department of Agriculture, as well as those who have influence in the supply side of agricultural commodities),” Remulla said.
He added: “Multi-pronged approach ito at hindi lang pagkilos ng prosecution kundi lahat na pwede gamitin ng gobyerno para habulin at papanagutin sila. Kung mayroon talagang ebidensya ay wala naman tayong sasantuhin dito (This is a multi-pronged approach and not only in the prosecution but all the levels of the government to run after them. If there are evidence, then we will go after them).”
Meanwhile, Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros said Malacañang should begin taking actions against individuals and corporations identified in past Senate hearings if it is dead serious in running after smugglers.
Hontiveros also said those involved in the latest sugar fiasco should be the first on the list.
“Definitely, kung seryoso si Presidente na wika nga ‘your days are numbered’ ‘yung mga smuggler, pati agricultural smugglers, simulan sa mga kasabwat at dahan-dahan ina-identify sa Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearings, pati sa minority report ng imbestigasyon ‘yung mga kasabwat, ‘yung mga favored importers, ‘yung mga facilitator na high officials of Department of Agriculture (Definitely, if the President is serious with his ‘your days are numbered’ [statement] against smugglers, including agricultural smugglers, they should start with the individuals identified in the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearings and in the minority report based on its investigation on those involved, the favored importers, the facilitators who are high officials of the Department of Agriculture),” Hontiveros said in an interview after the President delivered his second SONA on Monday.
She said that Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin should likewise be investigated for his statement that a sugar order is not necessary for the government to allow the importation of sugar.
“Unfortunately, hindi rin malinis ang kamay ni Executive Secretary sa kanilang sinabing hindi na kailangan ng sugar order para makapag-angkat. Talagang na-stun ang mga stakeholders sa sugar industry to the point na pati si Negros Occidental Gov. (Eugenio) Lacson ay nagsabing pag ‘yan nagpatuloy, parang tsunami sa sugar industry sa Negros (Unfortunately, the Executive Secretary’s hands are not clean when he said that a sugar order is not needed for the importation of sugar. Stakeholders from the sugar industry were stunned to the point that even Negros Occidental Gov. Lacson said that if that continues, the sugar industry in Negros will be in disarray),” she also said.
Hontiveros has been citing Section 117 of RA 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act which provides that “goods which are subject to regulation shall be imported or exported only after securing the necessary goods declaration or export declaration, clearances, licenses, and other requirements prior to importation or exportation.”
Hontiveros early this year exposed the importation of 400,00 MT of sugar from Thailand ahead of Sugar Order No. 6, saying the imported sugar arrived in the country on February 9, whle the Sugar Order was issued on February 15.
She said the contract were given to three handpicked suppliers — All Asian Counter Trade Inc., Sucden Philippines Inc., and Edison Lee Marketing Corporation.
Former Senate President Vicente Sotto III has identified as Manuel Tan, Andrew Chang, Lea Cruz, and a certain Jun Diamante who are allegedly involved in smuggling in a hearing held April 2022.
Sotto said the names of the four persons were given him by a whistleblower who supposedly described them as “well-versed” on the processes of importation and familiar with the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Customs.
Remulla said the result of the DOJ’s fact-finding on agricultural smuggling will be done in the “next two weeks” while they conduct the probe for the possible filing of charges within “one of two months.”
Early this month, Remulla has said that their initial probe showed a network of six to seven people behind the smuggling of onion and other agricultural products in the country.
“There are around six or seven names that come out whenever we look at the whole picture. So, we already have an idea. We just have to catch them in the act,” Remulla said then, adding that the network has extensive contacts that allow them to control the supply of agricultural products, cold storage facilities and warehouses.
The DOJ formed an Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Task Force along with a special team of prosecutors “primarily focused on protecting the entire agricultural sector, not only the onion industry.”
Among the members of the task force are the Office of the Prosecutor General headed by Prosecutor General Benedicto Malcontento, Fadullon and the National Bureau of Investigation headed by Director Medardo de Lemos. — With Raymond Africa
