Rice smuggling in Iloilo – never?

By Herbert Vego

IT did not shock rice traders anymore when a Manila-based newspaper scooped the story that about 38,400 metric tons (MT) or ₱1 billion worth smuggled rice from Vietnam had been unloaded from several ships at the Iloilo Commercial Port Complex in Iloilo City with the “blessing” of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) personnel.

Nobody, however, would pinpoint specific past cases.  They could only say that with the changing of the BOC “guards”, the veteran smugglers would have to get to know them better.

I remember though that the warehouse of one of the claimants of the shipments had been raided years ago by elements of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for rebagging National Food Administration (NFA) rice and selling them at premium prices.  Areglado?

The smuggling report occurred at a time when new Customs Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz had hardly warmed himself in his national post. He is not a stranger to us here in Iloilo City though. I had interviewed him several times in his former capacity as the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) region-6 chief.

I read reports that the Iloilo port district collector, Ciriaco Ugay, had initially kept his lips sealed – as if waiting for clearance from the head office in Manila. Days later, he said that the rice importation was covered with legal documents from the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) in compliance with Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law.

While Commissioner Ruiz has already ordered an investigation into the questioned rice shipments, would that be good enough?

While I was writing this yesterday, a printed but unsigned statement on the “Bureau of Customs” letterhead found its way into my desk. It alleged that the Iloilo rice shipments arriving on different dates this month had paid Customs duties, taxes and other charges in the amount of ₱83,322,586.68; and that there had never been a history of rice smuggling in Iloilo. Talaga ha?

It is unfortunate that the BOC is not known for non-collusion within the rank and file and with other government agencies. Theirs has always been a “one for all, all for one on Friday” camaraderie.

Sans credible witnesses and evidence, elevating the matter to the Office of the Ombudsman would prove futile.

To appease the fooled people, it’s probably time to renew BBM’s promise of a ₱20/kilo rice.  Baka paniwalaan pa rin.

-oOo-

JPT DOES NOT HAVE TO ‘DIGNIFY’ TULFO

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Erwin Tulfo on Monday earned the ire of Ilonggos after he lashed out at Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas in a TV talk show on CNN Philippines.

He told “The Source” host Pinky Webb that if the mayor intends to declare the region-6 officer-in-charge Delia Bagolcol “personal non-grata”, why not Tulfo himself?

Bagolcol had angered the mayor because of the  agency’s congested, disorderly distribution of cash aid for students at the Iloilo Sports Complex last Saturday.

Well, I guess JPT was just being emotional when he threatened the regional officer with a “persona non grata” status.

Methinks he should not have waited for Tulfo to take up the cudgels for a subordinate but should have directly blamed  Tulfo, whose public image does not suit social welfare.

In his former job as broadcaster, Tulfo had shamed government officials, including his predecessor Rolando Bautista – a retired general and Philippine Army chief — just because the latter had failed to show up in his radio program at the state-run Radyo Pilipinas. He called Bautista “a demon”.

Since the topsy-turvy event was a nationwide blunder, the mayor should have sympathized with Bagolcol, who was merely obeying Tulfo’s order.

On the lighter side, Tulfo does not deserve a foreign-sounding label.

Padiwali  na lang abi, Mayor Treñas.

-oOo-

POWER MODERNIZATION IN A NUTSHELL

MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) has exhausted ₱1.5-billion in capital expenditure while marching to become a world-class power-distribution utility in Iloilo City.  Remember, the company took over from old franchisee Panay Electric Co, (PECO) in February 2020.

At least ₱1-billion more is expected to be disbursed in the next two and a half years and much more in the extension of its franchise coverage to Passi City and 15 towns of Iloilo province.

The ultimate goal of company president Roel Z. Castro is to hit world-class level. Major investments have already been made in the acquisition of mobile substations, rehabilitation and uprating of on-site substations, and construction of a switching station at Brgy. Banuyao, La Paz.

Modernization means minimizing systems loss, illegal connections and power interruptions; reducing overloading; providing cheaper and safer electricity supply; and delivery of efficient service.

MORE Power has been massively replacing old electric meters, undergoing replacements of dilapidated and wooden electric poles, uprating distribution transformers, and installing conductors round the clock.

MORE Power is known for its quick response to emergency calls. The average response time, from the moment calls are received until the response team arrives on site, is 10 to 15 minutes.