Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala has been accused of favoring a group of garlic importers which allegedly manipulated the supply of the commodity that led to a surge in prices in 2014.
An alleged whistleblower, Lilybeth Valenzuela, a garlic importer, claims Director Clarito Barron of the Bureau of Plant and Industry (BPI) told importers they would need Alcala’s blessings before they can be issued permits to import garlic, according to the National Bureau of Investigation.
And the NBI believed Valenzuela on her mere say-so without any shred of evidence?
Valenzuela was apparently sourgraping because she wasn’t issued an import permit.
She could be fronting for a group with a vested interest.
* * *
The war between Chinese-Filipino or Chinoy middlemen, on the one hand, and an All-Filipino group of importers, buyers and sellers of vegetables, on the other, has turned ugly.
Chinoy middlemen, represented by their Filipino dummies, buy vegetables at low prices from farmers and sell high to consumers.
They are now losing to local importers and vendors led by Leah Cruz, president of Vegetable Importers, Exporters and Vendors Association (Vieva).
Vieva goes straight to the farmers and buys their products at the current market prices and then sells to consumers at a low profit margin.
Vieva earns profits by selling in bulk.
Since the Chinoy middlemen are losing to Vieva, it’s employing foul means like filing cases in the courts.
Why do I know about Vieva’s activities?
Because my farm in Puerto Princesa is a pilot farm of Vieva.
The Department of Justice and the NBI should not allow themselves to be used by Chinoy middlemen.
***
Carlos Celdran INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Can’t the Catholic bishops find it in their hearts to forgive tour guide Carlos Celdran who committed a minor crime which, if we come right down to it, was no crime at all?
Celdran never stole anybody’s money.
He didn’t steal anybody’s wife. He didn’t physically harm anybody. He didn’t commit a crime that would hurt society like sell or traffic in drugs.
Celdran wasn’t even a tax evader.
All he did was hurt the sensibilities of some members of the Catholic Church by parading down the aisle of the Manila Cathedral during a Mass carrying a sign which read “Damaso.”
“Damaso” is Padre Damaso, a fictional character in Jose Rizal’s novel “Noli Me Tangere” that depicted the abuses of friars during the Spanish era.
Celdran was expressing the feelings of most Catholics over the undue interference of the Church in government affairs.
He was referring to the strong protest put up by the local clergy over the Reproductive Health Bill, which at that time was the topic of most discussions, which would give couples the right to choose the birth control method that suited them.
Celdran was just exercising his right to free expression which the Constitution provides.
But alas! There is a law against “offending religious feelings.”
The Court of Appeals, which is composed mostly of nitwits, upheld Celdran’s conviction based on that harebrained law.
But can’t the Church forgive Celdran who disrupted a Mass, a very minor offense?
The Church preaches forgiveness. Why can’t it forgive Celdran?
RELATED STORIES
CA affirms Celdran’s conviction in ‘Damaso’ act
Celdran found guilty in ‘Damaso’