BM Sison seeks Senate inquiry on fake cigarettes factory
BUGALLON—SecondDistrict Board Member Raul Sision wrote Sen. Cynthia Villar to initiate a Senate inquiry into the recent discovery of a factory that manufactures fake cigarettes in Barangay Portic here.
In his letter dated Dec. 4, Sison described the facts reported about the factory manufacturing fake cigarettes raided on Nov. 29 by joint elements of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
“They found an estimated P2.5-billion worth of fake, untaxed and toxic cigarettes and machines used to manufacture them. There were 28 workers (five of them Chinese nationals and the 23 were recruited from Visayas and Mindanao) at the factory when the raiding team arrived,” he said.
Sison added, “This unlawful operation can be categorized as a form of economic sabotage, terrorism, and human smuggling. The magnitude of impact on the lives of the people, economy and health is extremely high.”
The fake cigarette factory, based on the mission order and apprehension order carried by the raiding team, bore the name of one Dong Calugay and John Does.
Calugay, he said, is an ordinary retired policeman known to be a close to the family of former governor and now Fifth District Rep. Amado Espino Jr.
Sison listed questions that need to be answered in the recommended senate hearing:
1. Who are the protectors/real owners of this fake cigarettes plant?
2. How long has it been operating?
3. Are top officials in Pangasinan who live in the same barangay and operate business near the fake cigarette factory unaware of its unlawful operations?
He added that the discovery of the fake cigarettes factory could possibly be just a tip of the iceberg of vast illegal activities by powerful people in Pangasinan.
“Please, help us save the present and future generations of Pangasinenses from becoming hapless victims of heartless people behind this syndicate,” he said.
In a press conference last week, Cong. Espino affirmed that his family will“vigorously support any investigation by proper authorities, to ferret out the whole truth, and for those who are guilty to face the full force of the law,and for law and order to continually prevail in our beloved province”. (PhilStar Wire Service/ Nora Dominguez)
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