Remulla: 6 to 7 persons behind syndicate
JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla yesterday said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is putting together a case of economic sabotage against members of a smuggling network, initially believed to be composed of six to seven individuals engaged in the illegal importation of onion and other agricultural products in the country.
Remulla told reporters he has directed Chief State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon and Justice Undersecretary Jess Andres to start a case build up against the syndicate members but kept mum when asked to identify them.
“We’re looking at all the minutes now of the congressional hearings, and of course, we will look at our own notes to be able to put together a good case of economic sabotage against those who insist on creating a cartel in the country,” he said.
“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,” he said, adding that the network has extensive contacts that allow them to control the supply of agricultural products, and cold storage facilities and warehouses.
When asked if these persons are the same names that have previously cropped up in separate hearings conducted by the Senate and the House of Representatives, Remulla said: “Yes.”
Remulla said those involved in the illegal activities can be charged with violation of Republic Act 10845, also known as the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016, which imposes severe penalties for illegal importation of agricultural products.
Aside from smuggling, he said offenders can also be pursued for related crimes, such as profiteering and hoarding, which are recognized as acts of economic sabotage.
The DOJ secretary has earlier announced the creation of an Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Task Force, along with a special team of prosecutors, to “primarily focus on protecting the entire agricultural sector, not only the onion industry.”
Among the members of the task force are Fadullon, the Office of the Prosecutor General headed by Prosecutor General Benedicto Malcontento, and the National Bureau of Investigation headed by Director Medardo de Lemos.
Remulla said the preliminary list of names who are part of the smuggling network was the result of an initial investigation conducted by the DOJ even before President Marcos Jr.’s directive to unmask syndicates involved in the smuggling, hoarding and price fixing of agricultural products.
“In fact, last year nung nag hearings sa Congress at sa Senate, nakapag test-buy pa nga ang NBI in Cebu. Na-locate namin kung sino ang nagtatago sa Cebu ng supply. So nakita talaga namin ‘yung organization nito at work (In fact, last year while the hearings were ongoing in Congress and in the Senate, the NBI was able to test buy in Cebu. It was able to locate who was hiding the supply in Cebu. So, we were able to see the organization and how it worked),” he said.
One of the traders named in the Senate hearings was Lilia Cruz, who was identified as the operator of the biggest onion cartel in the country, an allegation that the latter denied. In the House hearing, a certain Leah Cruz was named as the “undisputed Sibuyas Queen.”
Other names that were exposed in the Senate Committee of the Whole hearings were Manuel Tan and Andrew Chang. Also identified during the hearings was Mayor Democrito “Jun” Diamante of Tuburan town in Cebu province as an alleged smuggler of agri-fishery products.
Former Senate President Vicente Sotto III has alleged that Tan supposedly operates in the ports of Subic in Zambales, Cagayan de Oro and Batangas, while Chang purportedly does business in Subic and Batangas ports, the Manila International Container Port (MICP) and at the Port of Manila. Cruz, on the other hand, allegedly operates in the ports of Subic, MICP, and CDO, while Diamante does business in the ports of Cebu and Cagayan de Oro.
Diamante was also tagged by former senator Panfilo Lacson in a 2017 exposé in the alleged bribery of Bureau of Customs (BOC) officials under the agency’s “tara” or payola system.
Marcos on Tuesday launched his administration’s war against smugglers and hoarders of agricultural products after Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo, in a memorandum to the President, said there was substantial evidence to prove the existence of an onion cartel which could be behind the sudden surge in the prices of the bulbs last year.
Speaker Martin Romualdez yesterday vowed to expedite the passage of a bill seeking to amend the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act, one of President Marcos Jr.’s key priority measures meant to tighten the noose against smugglers of onion and other agricultural products.
The Speaker said the House will work on the bill as soon as the Second Regular Session of the 19th Congress starts on July 24.
The measure is among the 20 bills slated for approval by Congress by the end of the year as agreed among lawmakers and the executive during the second Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) full meeting presided over by the President in Malacañang last Wednesday.
“Enactment of this measure will institutionalize and improve mechanisms, as well as provide more stringent penalties that would serve as a strong deterrent against smuggling of agricultural products, including onion,” Romualdez.
The House leader said the inclusion of the measure among the LEDAC priority legislation “manifests Congress’ commitment to support President Marcos’ drive against unfair business practices that hurt consumers and local farmers alike, but also derail the administration’s efforts to attain food security.”
Last May, Quimbo revealed during a committee hearing that a cartel, operating through a web of companies, was the culprit manipulating the supply and prices of onion.
The committee investigation was called by Romualdez when the prices of the agricultural commodity hit a record-high of about P700 per kilo in December last year.
Quimbo, a senior vice chair of the panel, has said some members of the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) are working in cahoots with the onion cartel in the country.
According to Quimbo, the cartel was engaged in various activities in the supply chain such as farming, importation, local trading, warehousing, and logistics. — With Wendell Vigilia
