CDN FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—A lawyer on Wednesday said David Tan, the alleged Goliath of rice smuggling whose illegal activities have cost the government to lose P7 billion in revenues every year, is merely a “fictional character.”
Lawyer Argee Guevarra, in a press statement, said Tan was created only to cover up the involvement of government officials in monopolizing the rice trade industry in the country.
He accused Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala and National Food Administration Orlan Calayag of monopolizing the rice industry.
“The witch hunt for a certain David Tan is obviously part of a grand plot to instill fear among legitimate rice traders who can be accused of being Tan…Anyone can be David Tan because he is not a person but a fictional character,” Guevarra said.
“Any talk about David Tan or any bogeyman for that matter is feigning ignorance of the law and the rice situation in the country,” he said adding that “under the rice importation regime of DA Secretary Proceso Alcala, only NFA can import rice and grant importation quota especially to his favoured rice traders.”
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