Bangayan invited to Senate hearing on rice smuggling

Davidson Bangayan. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Davidson Bangayan, a trader suspected of being the influential David Tan allegedly involved in massive smuggling of rice, has been invited to testify at a Senate inquiry into the multi-billion-peso smuggling of the staple food.

Senator Cynthia Villar, chair of the Senate committee on agriculture and food, said Bangayan will be among the people invited to the hearing on Wednesday.

“We intend to continue our inquiry into rice smuggling, especially in light of reports of payoffs involving customs officials and the identification of alleged smugglers,” Villar said in a press statement.

Abono party-list head Rosendo So has been reported to have provided the Villar panel with information that Tan and Bangayan are one and the same person.

Customs officials have pointed to Tan as the mastermind behind smuggling activities that cost the government P7 billion annually in lost revenues.

The National Bureau of Investigation claims it has  witnesses who say Bangayan and the alleged smuggler Tan are one and the same person.

Bangayan presented himself to the NBI Friday to deny that he was the smuggler Tan although he admitted being involved in the rice business.

“The committee will take the lead in looking into reports that serious rice smuggling continues to pervade the country,” Villar said. “Smuggling is one of the reasons why many of our farmers continue to live in poverty. The illegal entry of rice threatens their livelihood and the welfare of two-thirds of our population who depend on agriculture.”

Other personalities invited to the hearing on Wednesday are Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Customs Commissioner John Philip Sevilla, Ombudsman Conchita Morales, National Food Authority Administrator Orlan Calayag, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairperson Teresita Herbosa and other stakeholders in the rice-trading industry.

Aside from being expected to grill Bangayan on the allegations against him, the committee will also check the implementation of committee recommendations it had made earlier in connection with rice smuggling at the Subic Bay Free Port Zone and the Port of Legazpi in Albay and the NFA-Private Sector Financed Importation Program.

Villar said that in the hearing attended by Alcala and then Customs Chief Ruffy Biazon on Nov. 18, 2013, “they agreed to make the importation process transparent by making available to the public importation documents of shipments before reaching Philippine ports.”

“In drafting the importation guidelines of agriculture products, we also agreed to consult all stakeholders,” Villar said.