(NI NOEL ABUEL)

TINIYAK ni Senador Panfilo Lacson na maparurusahan ang mga dati at kasalukuyang opisyal ng pamahalaan sa paglabag sa agricultural smuggling ng bigas sa bansa.

Ito tugon ng senador sa inilabas na utos ng Office of the Ombudsman na sibakin si dating National Food Authority (NFA) admin Jason Aquino dahil sa kasong paglabag sa grave misconduct kaugnay ng pag-smuggle ng Vietnamese rice habang wala pang desisyon ng anti-graft court laban kay Nicanor Faeldon.

“Against Faeldon et al Jason Aquino was an incidental participant simply because rice ang involved na nai-smuggle and siya ang nag-issue ng import permit after the fact. Meaning, ‘yung rice was already declared abandoned and seized in favor of the government and yet Jason Aquino as then NFA administrator issued an antedated import permit. You cannot do that because pag-aari ng gobyerno ‘yan. Kasi walang documentation, walang import permit. Na-seize ng CDO district collector and it was subjected to due process. Nagkaroon ng warrant seizure and detention and may hearing. And some people from the BOC then provided me with some documents which I pursued. It ended up with the Ombudsman,” paliwanag ni Lacson.

Una nang inihain ng senador sa Ombudsman ang agricultural smuggling laban sa nasabing mga opisyal subalit ibinasura ito ng anti-graft court.

“Ang nai-file ko rito maganda sana test case, RA 10845, agricultural smuggling. Ito ang lagi sinasabi ni Senador Cynthia Villar kasi siya ang author and sponsor na parang toothless ang file niyang legislation kasi walang na-file-an. And yet we hear day in and day out, week in and week out, na may smuggling. So I filed this as a test case. But the Ombudsman only resolved the case and about to file information for violation of Anti-Graft. Nawala ang agricultural smuggling,” sabi nito.

Dahil dito, inatasan na umano ni Lacson ang mga abogado nito na maghain ng motion for reconsideration para maisama ang kasong paglabag sa RA 10845 o agri smuggling.