(The Philippine Star)
This report now fully documents the continued incidence of smuggling
from 1960 to 2011, with the biggest recorded under the Aquino
administration.
In 2011, Malacañang’s attention was called to the open port smuggling in the port of Manila and other ports, but Malacañang turned a deaf ear, and refused to fire the incumbent commissioner and deputy commissioner of Customs.
Malacañang is alarmed that it has filed 157 cases of tax evasion and smuggling, but not one conviction has been recorded. We recall that several cases of oil smuggling have been filed, but they have been dismissed by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Senators Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Sonny Angara, and Juan Ponce Enrile have raised a valid point about the delay in the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in filing the case against Davidson Bangayan a.k.a. David Tan. It has been established that Bangayan had cornered the National Food Authority (NFA) permits to import, issued to 13 farmers’ cooperatives. The farmers’ cooperatives did not have any money to pay for their imports, documentation and bond requirements. It has been established that a director of one of Bangayan’s cooperatives claimed the 150 containers brought in by the Starcraft International Trading Corp. in Davao.
Billions were needed to pay for the huge imports. Only a ‘Davidson Bangayan’ has the capital to pay for the imports. It has been established also that Bangayan had gone to Vietnam to contract for at least 500,000 metric tons of rice.
The rice smuggling case is the litmus test of President Aquino’s
sincerity to fight corruption. The P173.5 billion losses under the
Aquino administration in 2011, is conclusive that big time corruption is
happening under P-Noy’s administration. It necessarily raises the
question as to who are the persons close to Malacañang that is giving
protection to the smugglers.
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is correct in his observation that DOJ and Bureau of Customs (BOC) officials talk too much, but are slow to act. So far, new Commissioner John Sevilla has been all talk, but no result yet in stopping corruption.
There are many cases of undervaluation which are recorded. Rice imports have been valued at as low as $50 per metric ton. Clearly, Customs personnel are on the take.
Tuesday, another bomb explosion was made against a Philippine Army convoy in Mamasapano.
6th Infantry Division Colonel Dickson Hermoso has admitted that the 2 BIFF commanders Ameril Umbra Kato and Kagi Karialan have escaped, and are still alive. Yes, they have escaped for the last six years.
Shouldn’t the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) be asked to help government forces to defeat the BIFF? After all, under the proposed peace agreement, they are also in charge of peace and order, and must help hunt down the criminal elements in the area.
Albay Representative Al Francis Bichara, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs urged Malacañang to apologize to avoid harder sanctions.
It used to be that open heart surgery is only done in Metro Manila, making it difficult and expensive for a heart patient to fly to Manila. Private hospitals in Cebu are also capable of doing heart surgery.
Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez said it would be easy to find a buyer for the PCOS machines. Some senators are pushing for a return to manual voting for 2016.
Barzaga charged that P200 million in government funds have been misused. There are reports that the BPI is controlled by the “Quezon Mafia.”
Tidbits: A UN report said 3,500 Filipino children will be affected with cancer every year.
There were 8 carnappings in Quezon City last week.
Department of Budget and Management (DBM) reported to the Supreme Court (SC) that 119 projects were funded by the Disbursement Allocation Program (DAP) costing P149 billion.
Buhay Party-list Representative Lito Atienza asked DILG Secretary Mar Roxas and PNP Director General Alan Purisima to resign if they cannot address the worsening peace and order situation in the country.
Revised PNP statistics showed more than 1.2 million crimes committed in 2013.
In 2011, Malacañang’s attention was called to the open port smuggling in the port of Manila and other ports, but Malacañang turned a deaf ear, and refused to fire the incumbent commissioner and deputy commissioner of Customs.
Malacañang is alarmed that it has filed 157 cases of tax evasion and smuggling, but not one conviction has been recorded. We recall that several cases of oil smuggling have been filed, but they have been dismissed by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Senators Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Sonny Angara, and Juan Ponce Enrile have raised a valid point about the delay in the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in filing the case against Davidson Bangayan a.k.a. David Tan. It has been established that Bangayan had cornered the National Food Authority (NFA) permits to import, issued to 13 farmers’ cooperatives. The farmers’ cooperatives did not have any money to pay for their imports, documentation and bond requirements. It has been established that a director of one of Bangayan’s cooperatives claimed the 150 containers brought in by the Starcraft International Trading Corp. in Davao.
Billions were needed to pay for the huge imports. Only a ‘Davidson Bangayan’ has the capital to pay for the imports. It has been established also that Bangayan had gone to Vietnam to contract for at least 500,000 metric tons of rice.
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is correct in his observation that DOJ and Bureau of Customs (BOC) officials talk too much, but are slow to act. So far, new Commissioner John Sevilla has been all talk, but no result yet in stopping corruption.
There are many cases of undervaluation which are recorded. Rice imports have been valued at as low as $50 per metric ton. Clearly, Customs personnel are on the take.
BIFF still fighting
Contrary to an announcement made by the 6th Infantry Division that
the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) have been defeated and
have broken into smaller groups, the BIFF is continuing its fight
against the government.Tuesday, another bomb explosion was made against a Philippine Army convoy in Mamasapano.
6th Infantry Division Colonel Dickson Hermoso has admitted that the 2 BIFF commanders Ameril Umbra Kato and Kagi Karialan have escaped, and are still alive. Yes, they have escaped for the last six years.
Shouldn’t the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) be asked to help government forces to defeat the BIFF? After all, under the proposed peace agreement, they are also in charge of peace and order, and must help hunt down the criminal elements in the area.
Estrada decided to apologize
Mayor Joseph Estrada insisted yesterday that no one, not Malacañang
can stop him from apologizing to Hong Kong. He said that he is concerned
with the welfare of an estimated 150,000 overseas Filipino workers
(OFWs) in Hong Kong. He said his planned visit to Hong Kong is still
being negotiated.Albay Representative Al Francis Bichara, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs urged Malacañang to apologize to avoid harder sanctions.
3 hospitals for heart surgery
The Department of Health (DOH) reported the 3 public hospitals that
are now capable of undertaking heart procedures. They are the Southern
Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) in Davao City; the Northern Mindanao
Medical Center (NMMC) in Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental; and the
Bicol Regional Teaching and Training Hospital (BRTTH) in Legazpi City,
Albay.It used to be that open heart surgery is only done in Metro Manila, making it difficult and expensive for a heart patient to fly to Manila. Private hospitals in Cebu are also capable of doing heart surgery.
Discard the PCOS
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is studying whether to use the
precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines for 2016. Considering that
charges have been aired about a 6-30-10 programming of the PCOS machines
in 2013, it is the better part of discretion to discard them now.Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez said it would be easy to find a buyer for the PCOS machines. Some senators are pushing for a return to manual voting for 2016.
Onion monopoly
Another widely reported smuggled commodities are garlic and onions.
Cavite representative Elpidio Barzaga Jr. has asked the House committee
on good governance on House Resolution No. 341 to investigate the Bureau
of Plant Industry (BPI), for its granting of permits to import onions
and garlic to companies controlled by a certain Leah Cruz.Barzaga charged that P200 million in government funds have been misused. There are reports that the BPI is controlled by the “Quezon Mafia.”
Tidbits: A UN report said 3,500 Filipino children will be affected with cancer every year.
There were 8 carnappings in Quezon City last week.
Department of Budget and Management (DBM) reported to the Supreme Court (SC) that 119 projects were funded by the Disbursement Allocation Program (DAP) costing P149 billion.
Buhay Party-list Representative Lito Atienza asked DILG Secretary Mar Roxas and PNP Director General Alan Purisima to resign if they cannot address the worsening peace and order situation in the country.
Revised PNP statistics showed more than 1.2 million crimes committed in 2013.
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