Chiz: Govt should not stop at raiding warehouses
“WHY has the Bureau of Customs (BOC) not filed criminal charges against suspected hoarders and smugglers rice?”
Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero raised the question yesterday weeks after tens of thousands of sacks of suspected smuggled imported rice were found and seized from several storage warehouses in Bulacan.
“Ang dami nang raids na ginawa nitong mga nakaraang linggo, bakit hanggang ngayon ay wala pang kasong naisasampa sa mga taong sangkot? (Authorities conducted several raids the past weeks. Why have they not filed any cases against anyone yet)?” Escudero asked.
He added: “Hindi tayo dapat natatapos sa raids lamang. Naghihintay at nagmamatyag ang taumbayan sa susunod na hakbang ng pamahalaan (We should not stop by only conducting raids. The Filipino people are watching and watching what the government’s next move would be).”
The smuggling and hoarding of rice have been blamed for the artificial shortage of the staple and price increases in recent months. The government, in response, has imposed a price ceiling on regular and well-milled rice sold in public markets. It is likewise distributing a P15,000 cash aid to micro and small rice retailers affected by the price cap.
Escudero said that after hitting the headlines of media reports with its accomplishment of shutting down rice warehouses, the BOC has not filed any case against a single suspect, or disclosed the identities of the owners of the storage facilities or of the smuggled imported rice.
He stressed there is a need to file charges against erring businesses and bring these “economic saboteurs” to court to serve as a warning that the administration is serious in its campaign against agriculture smuggling and hoarding.
RA 10845 or the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016 considers as economic sabotage the large-scale smuggling of agricultural products that involves “at least P1 million worth of sugar, corn, ork, poultry, garlic, onion, carrots, fish, and cruciferous vegetables, in their raw state, or which have undergone the simple processes of preparation and preservation for the market, or a minimum of P10 million worth of rice, as valued by Bureau of Customs (BOC).”
“Bakit hanggang ngayon, walang kaso (Why are cases not filed?) Why haven’t I heard anyone sued for economic sabotage or something? Who owns these warehouses? Who are the people involved?” Escudero asked.
RAIDS
On September 15, the BOC-Port of Zamboanga seized some 42,180 sacks of rice worth P42 million in Barangay San Jose Gusu after authorities discovered that the goods were not covered by the requisite sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance from the Bureau of Plant Industry.
On September 14, BOC raided a warehouse in Bacoor, Cavite and another one in Pulang Lupa in Las Piñas and found P40 million worth of suspected smuggled rice from Vietnam, Thailand and China.
During the investigation, it was discovered that the traders sells a 25-kilo sack of Vietnamese rice for P1,320, which is equivalent to P52.8 per kilo, in violation of the government’s price ceiling of P41 to 45 per kilo for well-milled and regular-milled rice.
The warehouse owners told the raiding team they were not importers but rice traders. The BOC gave them 15 days to submit proofs of payment of correct duties and taxes from their supplier or importer and other documentation to validate the legality of the importation of the sacks of rice.
Two weeks prior to this, the BOC padlocked four rice mills in Bulacan where an estimated P519 million worth of rice grains and palay (unhusked rice) were discovered. Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio has said that 154,000 sacks of imported rice grains and 60,000 sacks of palay were discovered at the following Bulacan rice mills: Gold Rush Rice Mill in San Juan, Balagtas; JSS Rice Mill in Wakas, Bocaue; Gold Rush Rice Mill 2 also in Wakas; and another one with a gray gate located inside the Intercity Industrial Complex in San Juan, Balagtas.
Just a week before this or on August 24, the BOC inspected the Great Harvest Rice Mill Warehouse, San Pedro Warehouse, and FS Rice Mill Warehouse — all in Bulacan — and found over 200,000 sacks of imported rice grains from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand worth P505 million.
The BOC said the 154,000 sacks of imported rice grains came from Vietnam and Pakistan and have an estimated value of P431 million, while the 60,000 sacks of palay are valued at P88 million.
The random inspections came days after President Marcos Jr. directed the BOC to continue raiding warehouses and other storage facilities to address the persistent problem of hoarding, illegal importation and smuggling of rice in the country.
Aside from the immediate filing of cases, Escudero said the government should also update the public on the development of the cases in the spirit of transparency.
“Ito ang mga dapat nilang masagot ngayon: who oversees the disposition and how will it be disposed? Ano ang gagawin nila sa mga bigas na nakumpiska (They should answer these questions: who oversees the disposition and how will it be dispersed? What will they do with the confiscated rice)?” he said.
MANDALUYONG
The Mandaluyong city government has suspended the collection and imposition of penalties for rice retailers renting stalls in the city’s public markets.
Mayor Ben Abalos Sr., vice mayor Menchie Abalos and Sangguniang Bayan secretary Ma. Teresa Miranda jointly signed City Ordinance No. 942 series of 2023 suspending the assessment and collection, including the imposition of penalties for the non-payment, of market stall fees.
The order covers all stall holders selling rice products in Mandaluyong Public Market 1 and 2.
The suspension is effective until October 5, 2023. — With Angela Celis and Christian Oineza
