Group warns against leaking raw reports on smugglers’ case to media

Davidson Bangayan. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–A consumer group on Monday called on the government to stop premature media attacks against suspected smugglers as it put legitimate businessmen vulnerable to shame and even extortion.

“The government must be thorough in investigating, should get its act together and stop the premature media attacks which is leaving legitimate Chinese-Filipino businessmen whose only fault is having a common surname vulnerable to shame and worse extortion. Likewise, families of some of the namesakes are already and inadvertently put to ridicule,” Coalition of Filipino Consumers, through its Secretary General Perfecto Jaime Tagalog said in a statement.

The group’s statement came following the supposed arrest of suspected smuggling lord David Tan due to a pending arrest warrant issued against him.

The National Bureau of Investigation, however, released him after presenting proof that he is Davidson Bangayan, not David Tan.

“We urge the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) in particular to take no witch-hunts or shortcuts since settling for any suspect for the sake of show will only leave the pernicious acts of smuggling of rice in the country unabated,” the group said.

“The concerned government agencies [need] to get to the bottom of the situation as the supply of the staple to the Filipino consumer is at stake,” he said.

Tagalog also urged authorities to look at the records of the National Food Authority (NFA) to identify big traders that are cornering a big chunk of the country’s rice imports under the 2013 quantitative restriction import mode of the agency (which for some reasons was extended until March of 2014).

He further asked investigators to study import manifests and consignees from the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to ascertain those “big” players in the country’s rice industry.

“A quick look at the records of the BOC would show who are the big importers/players. A cross-checking of records from the NFA would establish the legitimate importers from the smugglers,” Tagalog added.

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