Senate panel orders arrest of no-show rice trader

MANILA, Philippines - The Senate committee on food and agriculture yesterday issued an arrest order against one of the rice traders who showed interest in the 420,000 sacks of rice from India seized at the Subic Bay Freeport recently.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan, who chairs the Senate committee, said the arrest order was issued against Magdangal Diego Maralit Bayani III of St. Andrews Field Grains and Cereal Trading, for refusing to appear in the panel’s investigation into the rice shipment.

Pangilinan said the Senate may also decide within the week if they will cite some resource persons for contempt before the next hearing.

“Offhand, we have to study some more the documents that they have presented – there are some show cause documents we have gone through that contradict what was on record,” he said. 

He was referring to Cesar Ramirez of the Federation of San Miguel Cooperatives and Robson Enterprises who issued conflicting statements over his correspondence with Protik Guha, chief executive officer of Amira Foods.

“We need to send a strong signal that we are serious in this investigation. I am inclined to cite some of the resource persons in contempt. If we need to detain some, even perhaps all, of the resource persons when found lying, we need to do it,” Pangilinan said.

Upon the recommendation of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile last week, the Senate committee ordered Guha, Stefani Saño of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Cesar Bulaon of Metro Eastern Trading Corp., Cesar Ramirez of a farmers’ cooperative in General Santos City, and Vicente Cuevas III to show cause why they should not be cited for contempt for lying before the Senate.

They all submitted their explanations in yesterday’s hearing.

Pangilinan also challenged all resource persons appearing before the Senate inquiry to “tell the truth or face contempt charges and be detained.”

Now in its fourth week of investigation, the Senate committees on agriculture and food, ways and means, trade and commerce, and Blue Ribbon are investigating the alleged smuggling of some 420,000 50-kilogram bags of rice, worth almost P500 million, from India into the Philippines.

Pangilinan said there is no question that the seized rice was meant to be sold in the local market.

“We are losing a valuable source of revenue for the government, and – worse – we are essentially killing the livelihood of our farmers,” he said.

Previous hearings uncovered inconsistencies in the statements of the resource persons.

A number of resource persons, including Alfredo Cruz of GPI San Miguel Multi-purpose Cooperative, failed to attend yesterday’s hearing.