NFA chief may face raps

MANILA, Philippines - Despite his resignation, former National Food Authority (NFA) administrator Arthur Juan will still be under investigation for an alleged extortion try on a rice trader, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said over the weekend.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is looking into allegations by Jomerito Soliman of Purefeeds Corp. that Juan had tried to extort P15 million from him after a raid in July on the trader’s Bulacan warehouse where rice intended as animal feed was reportedly being mixed with Thai rice and passed off as premium sinandomeng.

“NBI’s probe into the alleged extortion continues,” De Lima said, adding that Juan’s resignation “would not serve to exculpate him from criminal liability.”

Juan, 68, quit irrevocably on Thursday, citing failing health, just three months after being appointed NFA chief.

In a sworn statement submitted to the NBI, Soliman claimed Juan offered to let him reopen his business without charges being filed in exchange for P15 million – to be divided among Juan, presidential assistant for food security and agricultural modernization Francis Pangilinan and Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II.

Pangilinan and Roxas, who have since denied Soliman’s allegation, were present during the raid on the businessman’s Bulacan warehouse.

Juan had offered to resign in August when Soliman raised the allegation for the first time. Pangilinan, chairman of the NFA council, rejected his resignation then.

Juan’s decision to tender an irrevocable resignation came after the leak recently of a purported NBI report recommending the filing of criminal charges against him.

De Lima refused to confirm the authenticity of the report, saying NBI’s investigation into the matter was still ongoing.

“I cannot confirm anything regarding the NBI report on the alleged NFA extortion because the NBI findings have yet to be finalized, hence, not yet for release.”

P8-M ‘hot’ rice seized

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Customs and the Philippine Navy intercepted Friday night some P8 million worth of smuggled rice from Malaysia at a port in Margosatubig, Zamboanga del Sur.

BOC spokesperson Charo Logarta-Lagamon said M/V Amnesia skippered by Jade Jackaria was found carrying 4,000 sacks of rice from Malaysia. Jackaria and two unidentified crewmembers were held on board under tight guard.

As of press time, BOC and Philippine Navy personnel were still inspecting the vessel and checking the records of the vessel’s captain and crew.

Lagamon said the Navy received a tip about the arrival of the contraband from Sandakan, Malaysia, which is only 628 kilometers from Zamboanga del Sur.

The Amnesia arrived Friday morning but the crew waited until dark before unloading the rice cargo, initial investigation showed.

Authorities pounced on the alleged smugglers at around 10 p.m. while they were loading sacks of rice onto four 10-wheeler trucks at the pier.

The BOC Intelligence Group, the Philippine Navy and the 53rd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army carried out the operation.

Lagamon said the shipment was considered smuggled because it was not covered by an import permit from the NFA as well as an import entry from the BOC.

She said that there had been reports of rampant smuggling in the area. “Last year, one of the mayors already complained about the proliferation of smuggled rice in Zamboanga so this is not the first time,” she said.

She said with the relatively short distance between Malaysia and Mindanao’s southernmost islands, smuggling is not unexpected.