P20M smuggled rice disappears in Zamboanga City

ZAMBOANGA CITY—An estimated P9-million worth of smuggled rice shipment has gone missing three days after it was intercepted by the Philippine Navy here.

The missing contraband is part of a shipment of 16,000 50-kg sacks of imported rice, loaded in four boats, that were intercepted on the shore of Recodo village here on Monday.

Rear Adm. Reynaldo Yoma, head of Naval Forces Western Mindanao, said a Navy team’s assault boat was on patrol when it intercepted the vessels on Monday.

The naval forces also intercepted 4,550 falcata logs in one of the boats.

The value of the entire shipment of smuggled rice was placed at P20 million.

But on Wednesday, some of the smuggled rice and the boat that carried these were no longer at the city port.

“We were shocked to learn this morning (Wednesday) that one of the four vessels our operatives intercepted last Monday is missing from the port,” said Navy Ensign Ian Chester Ramos, spokesperson of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao.

Yoma earlier said the confiscated cargo was turned over to the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

“On Tuesday, the boat was still there,” Ramos said. “We were notified about the missing boat just this morning. Our unit’s hard work went in vain,” Ramos added.

Miguel Saquisami, the newly installed Customs district collector, confirmed to the Inquirer that one of the boats, ML Ayang, is missing. Saquisami, in a text message to the Inquirer, said Customs officials are checking reports that the boat is now in Jolo, Sulu.

Saquisami earlier told the Inquirer by phone that he could not provide details of who owned the cargo and where it came from.

“It’s a big headache,” he said.

Saquisami said some of the crew members of the three other boats are being investigated, “but we cannot provide details now because we are trying to apprehend again the ML Ayang.”

The city council had appealed to President Aquino for help to stop rice smuggling in the city, which Mayor Ma.

Isabelle Climaco-Salazar had described as a “pest.”

The council passed a resolution recently also calling on the BOC to investigate cases of smuggling and for the Senate blue ribbon committee to conduct a parallel investigation.

Charlie Mariano, councilor and main author of the resolution, said the city is becoming a haven for smugglers who appeared to be operating with impunity.

Records from law enforcement agencies here showed that tons of rice had been smuggled into the city and seized in recent months.

At least 8,000 sacks of smuggled rice had been seized in September from a ship docked at the city port.

In August, at least P3.2-million worth of jasmine rice was also intercepted off Sta. Cruz Island.

In April, a small boat carrying some P7-million worth of Malaysian rice was also intercepted by the Philippine Navy as it was sailing to the city.

Mariano said the city is becoming either a transshipment point for rice smuggled from Vietnam and Malaysia or as a market for the contraband.

The smuggled goods, he said, are being brought in through Tawi-Tawi province or Sulu province.

“There are no huge rice fields in Tawi-Tawi or Sulu, yet thousands of sacks of rice are being brought in from there,” Mariano said. Julie S. Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao