Three individuals, including two from the Bureau of Customs (BOC), were cited for contempt for allegedly lying during the continuation of Senate’s hearing on agricultural smuggling on Monday.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan, chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform, cited for contempt Andrew Calixihan, BOC deputy collector for assessment in the Port of Subic; Mary Anabelle Gubaton, BOC COO III, also of the Port of Subic and Erwin Pascual, owner of EPCB Consumer Goods Trading.
Brenda de Sagun, Berches Consumer Goods Trading broker, was also previously cited for contempt but was temporarily released from detention to gather information regarding a certain individual who allegedly contracted them to import goods.
Calixihan was cited for contempt for allegedly lying about three trucks that transferred goods-declared as chicken poppers but were actually onions and frozen mackerel- from the Port of Subic on the night of June 27.
Pangilinan accused Calixihan of misleading the committee for giving untruthful testimony. The latter also explained that his function as deputy collector for assessment is only supervising the assessment division.
On the other hand, Pascual registered his business under the name of his nephew Dexter Juala, a delivery food rider.
He said he was hoping that Juala would learn something about brokering.
However, Pangilinan cited Juala’s claim that he was never involved in any meeting with brokers. Gubaton, Calixihan, and Pascual were ordered detained in the Senate.
Meanwhile, Pangilinan said there was sufficient circumstantial evidence to believe that local businessmen and government officials are in connivance with Chinese smuggling syndicates.
According to Pangilinan, the Chinese smuggling rings are protected by a number of government employees and officials of the BOC, National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police, Department of Agriculture, the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Immigration.
He said these officials ‘allow these Chinese smugglers and their local partners to operate freely, occasionally raiding and seizing smuggled agri- products to show a semblance of law enforcement while ensuring that no big time smuggler is prosecuted for the non-bailable offense of economic sabotage.’
He warned violators that economic sabotage is punishable by life imprisonment and a fine of three times the value of the smuggled goods under Republic Act No. 12022, otherwise known as the Anti-agricultural Economic Sabotage Act.
Pangilinan said that officers / personnel of logistic companies face up to 20 to 30 years imprisonment and a fine double the value of the smuggled goods as well as revocation of their licenses if found guilty under the Economic Sabotage Act.