Don’t let smugglers of rice, drugs go unpunished — LP officials

Senator Bam Aquino. PHOTO FROM AQUINO MEDIA OFFICE

The government should investigate the attempted smuggling of rice worth P67.9 million off Zamboanga Sibugay, Liberal Party (LP) members urged on Monday.

“Panagutin natin ang mga smugglers na nagpapayaman habang lalong nagugutom ang mga Pilipino,” Senator Bam Aquino said in a statement.

(Hold the smugglers accountable because while they get rich, the Filipinos get hungrier.)

“Imbestigahan na para malaman kung sino ang sangkot sa smuggling ng bigas. Posibleng pare-pareho ang mga sindikatong nagpapasok ng droga at iba pang illegal goods sa bansa,” he added.

(Have them investigated so we find out who’s involved in the smuggling of rice. It’s possible that the syndicates who let drugs and illegal goods enter the country are all the same.)

For his part, Senator Francis Pangilinan lauded the Naval Forces Western Mindanao for intercepting the rice shipment off Olutanga Island in Zamboanga Sibugay on Saturday night.

“We laud the Navy for doing its job of protecting our territorial waters from bad elements and from those who are trying to make quick money out of our countrymen,” said Pangilinan.

Naval Task Force 61 intercepted Mongolia-registered MV Diamond 8, which was found to be carrying 27,180 sacks or around 1,359 metric tons of Vietnam rice.

Rear Admiral Rene Medina, commander of the naval forces in Western Mindanao, said the vessel, manned by a crew of 11 Bangladeshi and four Chinese nationals, was unloading rice at sea when it was spotted.

READ: Navy intercepts 27,000 sacks of rice being unloaded off Zambo

LP Vice President for External affairs Erin Tañada said the government should identify and punish those responsible for this smuggling attempt.

“Baka matulad na naman ito sa isyu ng P6.4-billion na shabu smuggling na hindi napapanagot ang mga pangunahing sangkot,” he pointed out.

(It might turn out to be similar to the issue of the P6.4-billion shabu smuggling where those involved were not held accountable.)/je