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CEBU CITY, Philippines - The National Food Authority (NFA) was asked to explain two conflicting certifications its officials issued for the seized rice shipment of businessman Regan King.
One certificate said the bodega in Mandaue City was unregistered, while another said the warehouse was properly listed under King’s company Jolli Traders International.
“While one is saying yes, the other one is saying no. That's the reason we have this problem now,” Judge Fortunato de Gracia said Tuesday during the hearing of a motion to quash the search warrant he earlier issued for the rice cargo.
The judge on Tuesday ordered NFA Regional Director Danilo Bonabon and Provincial Manager Ramon Astilla to appear in a hearing on Wednesday.
Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation seized 24,443 sacks of rice from warehouse No. 52 in Barangay (village) Cabangcalan, Mandaue City on April 2. There were earlier suspicions raised that the rice was hoarded but the only violation of law cited was improper storage in an unregistered warehouse.
Bonabon issued a certification on April 1 stating that the warehouse, managed by former Cebu Ports Authority manager Mariano Martinez, was not registered with the NFA. On this basis, the judge issued a search warrant for the raid.
Astilla, however, issued a certification on April 3 certifying that the same warehouse is duly registered with the NFA under Jolli Traders International, which is partly owned by King.
If a mistake was made, it could have been due to the way the identity of the warehouse user was searched in NFA records.
Jaime Ang, chief of the NFA registration and licensing division, tried to explain that the two certifications did not necessarily contradict each other.
He testified that Bonabon issued the certification based on the data that he supplied because the name of Martinez did not appear in their list of licensed warehouses, while Astilla issued the certification under the name of Jolli Traders.
“I did not mind looking for warehouse no. 52 because the certification is issued under the name of Martinez,” said Ang.
Ang was presented in court by Gerry Carillo, counsel of King, to prove that his client is duly licensed by the NFA as a rice retailer, wholesaler and importer, and whose warehouse which he leased in Grand Central Properties, Inc. is duly registered with the NFA.
Before Ang testified in court, King took the witness stand to prove that he had a license with the NFA.
The 31-year-old businessman told the court that he imported the 24,443 bags of rice from Vietnam, in partnership with the Philippine International Traders Corp (PITC).
He explained that under the program of NFA and the PITC, there were several farmers' cooperatives that looked for business partners for financial assistance.
King said that when the shipment arrived on March 17, the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said they wanted to conduct a 100-percent physical inventory of the shipment.
Since the BOC has no large storage, he asked that the rice be transferred to the warehouse, where the cargo could be examined.
A day before the raid, he told the NFA, through Bonabon, and the NBI, through agent Arnel Pura, that he had a license from the NFA.
But NBI-7 Director Medardo de Lemos told Judge de Gracia that he was not informed about the communication of King. De Lemos said that based on the document that he received, the warehouse is under the name of Martinez, who is not licensed by the NFA.
King, however, said he informed the two government agencies about his license to avoid further delay of disposing of the rice.
But the NBI and the NFA went ahead with serving the search warrant on April 2.
“It’s very difficult to import rice now unlike in previous years,” King said, citing the BOC’s required 100 percent physical examination.
The Customs Bureau, which has intervened in the case, said it is still determining how much taxes King should pay for the rice cargo.
Judge de Gracia said he would release the rice cargo if King could prove that the court has no jurisdiction over the shipment and if there was no probable cause in the issuance of the search warrant.
The judge said he may issue an order this afternoon after hearing the testimony of the NFA officials.
He said the rice should be distributed in the markets, as he has personally seen the long lines of consumers who want to buy NFA rice, the cheapest rice variety available at P18.50
The judge said related how one consumer told him that he lined up for two hours just to buy three kilos of NFA rice. /With report from Correspondent Hayde Quiñanola
