RICE SMUGGLING

ROSALES—Three judges are facing administrative charges before the Supreme Court in cases filed by members of the agriculture sector allegedly “for knowingly rendering unjust judgment” involving smuggled rice.

Charged with one case each are Judge Cicero  Jurado Jr. of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) National Capital Judicial Region Branch 11, Manila and Judge Eutiquio Quitain of RTC-Region IV, Branch 5, Lemery, Batangas, while two separate cases were filed against  Judge Maria Paz Reyes-Yson, RTC National Capital Judicial Region-Branch 54 Manila.

The charges were submitted on March 7 by the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG), an umbrella organization of 33 federations and organizations of various sectors of the agriculture industry.

All three judges ruled in favor of owners of rice shipments, totalling about 1,000,000 bags worth P1.8-billion, seized by the Bureau of Customs (BoC) for supposed lack of pertinent permits.

The issue against Jurado involves rice shipments constituting 480 container vans of rice of Danilo G. Galang, under the business name Hildegard Grains Enterprises; Quitain on Ivy Souza of Bold Bidder Marketing and General Merchandise; and Reyes on Starcraft International Trading Corp. represented by Eugene Pioquinto and the other on Marvin Mendoza of Silent Royalty Marketing.

PERMIT

SINAG, represented by its chairman Rosendo So, said in its complaints that the BoC refused to release these rice shipments as the importation was made without a permit from the National Food Authority (NFA) in consonance with NFA Memorandum Circular No. AO-2K13-003.

So explained that an import permit from the NFA was required for all rice importations pursuant to the Special Treatment granted by the World Trade Organization.

Upon the expiration of the Special Treatment, the Philippine government filed an appeal to extend the validity of the Special Treatment until 2017, he added.

While the appeal remains pending and considering the public’s clamor against rice smuggling, So said it was but right for the Bureau of Customs to implement the procedure which has long been adopted by their office unless directed by the Commissioner of Customs to do so otherwise.

So also pointed out that the dispute between the rice importers and the BoC is primarily subject to the BoC and the Court of Tax Appeals, not the RTCs.—Tita Roces

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