Answers elude probers of rice smuggling
AFTER getting dragged in an investigation of a multimillion-rice smuggling fiasco, former National Food Authority (NFA) administrator Angelito Banayo on Thursday clarified that the Senate is not filing a case against him.
In an aired interview, Banayo denied that the Senate has ordered the Office of the Ombudsman and the Bureau of Customs (BoC) to investigate him and file possible graft charges.
“In Senate committee report page 33, what the panel said was for Ombudsman together with BoC to examine significant documents submitted before the committee and to conduct further investigation for possible violation,” Banayo explained.
“ kinakasuhan, walang kaso ang NFA, pinaiimbestigahan. Parang sinasabi ng Senado na ‘ Hindi kami nakakita ng malinaw na ebidensya so kayo ang mag-imbestiga [What I am saying, we are not being sued, NFA is not facing any charge, we are being investigated. It’s as if Senate is saying that “We haven’t seen any clear evidence so, you do the investigation],’” he added.
Earlier, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said that he is open to conduct an investigation and to hold individuals involved in issuing import permit to farmers’ cooperative allegedly used by rice smugglers as front.
Alcala, who also chaired the Food agency, said that he is also studying a possible abolition of the cooperative as importers’ program.
But Banayo said that he has been opposing the program, while he was still the administrator of the Food authority.
“Papano natin masisiguro na may kakayahan ang mga iyan sapagkat napakalaking halaga ang pag- import ng bigas, maski local trading ng bigas. Ang problema baka mamaya gamitin lang itong mga ito kasi nga malaking kwarta ang kailangan, hindi biro-biro ang pag-i- import ng bigas [How can we be sure that these cooperatives have the money as rice importation entails huge cash outlays, why, even local rice trading uses up large sums of monies. The problem here is they will likely be used as dummies since (rice imports) entail big monies, rice importation is no joke],” he said.
Meanwhile, Customs Commissioner Rozzano Rufino “Ruffy” Biazon confirmed that, based on the Senate investigation, some farmers’ cooperative at the Food agency are involved on the rice smuggling in the country.
Biazon, in a separate interview, said that one of the cooperatives admitted that they were in cahoots of entering smuggled rice in the country.
The Customs chief also clarified that farmers’ cooperatives that are being investigated by the Senate, have already been charged by the Justice department.
Biazon said that he has already ordered the further investigation of the rice smuggling mess, but stressed that they have only limited power to do so.
On Wednesday, the peasant group, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas expressed its support on the Senate recommendation ordering the Ombudsman to investigate Banayo and other Food officials for possible graft case, in connection with the alleged use of the authority’s licensed rice importers as dummies by certain moneyed individuals who cornered state rice import quotas worth millions of pesos.