Former NFA chief, slain columnist linked to rice smuggling in PH

Former PTA chief Nixon Kua. Facebook photo

MANILA, Philippines – Former National Food Authority Lito Banayo and slain veteran columnist Nixon Kua have been dragged into the Senate’s investigation into the alleged rice smuggling in the country.

Kua, who was shot by suspected robbers in July this year, was allegedly identified with Banayo.

During Monday’s hearing in the Senate, Simeon  Sioson of the 4 SM Agri Venture Multi-Purpose Cooperative, claimed that Banayo  had only “favored” the  group  of Elizabeth Faustino, who identified herself as treasurer of farmers’ federation composed of  14 to 15 cooperatives.

“I admit, we’re just a dummy,” an emotional Sioson said in Filipino.

The P5 profit that the cooperatives had allegedly earned for each bag of rice sold to them, he said, was also not true.

“Mr. Banayo was protecting the group of Ms. Elizabeth. The NFA is favoring only a few,” Sioson  added.

He said he was willing to tell  all in an executive session but  requested  the Senate to give  him protection .

Before this, Faustino claimed that it was Kua who paid the P57 million balance of the P61 million ‘service fee” that the Formosa Multi-Purpose Cooperative paid to the NFA for the 10,000 metric tons of rice.

Ricardo Gatuz of the Formosa Multi-Purpose Cooperative, said they were only able to raise about P3M to P4 million  to pay the  NFA but Faustino helped them pay the balance.

But when Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile asked Faustino about it, the latter pointed to Kua as the source of the  money.

“Hindi po ako. Hindi rin po ang federation. Meron pong tumulong sa amin. Si Mr. Nixon Kua (I was not the one. It’s also not the federation. Someone helped us, it’s Mr. Nixon Kua),”  Faustino said in response to Enrile’s  questions.

She said she met Kua at the 6^th floor of the NFA’s office.

Faustino said it was Kua who had approached her and offered her 30 percent commission for every P5 per rice of bag of each cooperative .

Several other cooperative members present in the hearing also identified  Kua as agent of NFA,  offering them to buy the rice from the agency.