Feb 042014
 

Duterte: Davidson Bangayan is David Tan

Duterte: Davidson Bangayan is David Tan. Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte shows a photo of alleged rice smuggler David Tan during a Senate inquiry on rice smuggling on Monday, February 3, where he told senators that Tan and businessman Davidson Bangayan are one. Bangayan has repeatedly denied that he is David Tan. Benjie Castro

Malacañang on Tuesday reminded government officials that it is their duty to uphold the law after a mayor’s statement suggested he would take the law into his own hands to stop rice smuggling in his city.

“All government officials whether local or national have the basic responsibility to uphold the rule of law,” Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr. said during a press conference.

Coloma made the statement after Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte said he would “gladly kill” alleged rice smuggler Davidson Bangayan if the trader is caught smuggling in his city.

“Sabi, may bumaba ditong smuggled goods. Sabi ko pagbababarilin ko kayo. If this guy goes, I will gladly kill him. I will not hesitate. I will do it for my country,” Duterte told the Senate agriculture committee during a hearing on rice smuggling.

Aside from this, the mayor had also lamented the slow pace of justice in going after rice smugglers.

Systemic reforms

On Tuesday, Coloma said the government has already instituted several revamps within the Bureau of Customs but that this is not enough to solve the problem of smuggling.

“Pero hindi pa sapat yan, kinakailangan yung mga systemic reforms,” he said.

He said President Benigno Aquino III ordered Customs Commissioner John Philip Sevilla to take steps to “promote transparency and openness, simplified transactions, and adopted a systemic approach to plug loopholes and minimize opportunities for graft and corruption.”

The specific reform measures, he said, include:

– centralized single reference for valuation information
– implementation of a single dispute resolution process for valuation
– digitization of every single formal transaction
– review of the monitoring of Customs bonded warehouses
– revamp of the importer accreditation process
– intensified monitoring of sensitive imports

Aside from this, Coloma also cited government efforts in filing cases against smugglers.

He specifically said that since 2010, the government has filed a total of 157 cases under the Run After Tax Evaders and Smugglers program for an average of one case per week.

He said the National Food Authority, for its part, has been preparing stricter regulations for rice importation. — BM, GMA News

Jan 232014
 
Despite court documents, Bangayan insists he’s not ‘David Tan’

AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE HEARING. Senator Cynthia Villar, Chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, listens to Sen. Ralph Recto as he questions representatives of the Department of Agriculture about the claims made by certain groups and agencies concerning the actual state of rice supply in the country. Senate President Franklin M. Drilon, Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile and Senators Grace Poe, Nancy Binay and JV Ejercito also attended the hearing.(MNS photo) MANILA  (Mabuhay) – Businessman Davidson Bangayan on Wednesday remained firm that he is not suspected rice smuggler “David Tan,” despite being confronted at a Senate probe with court documents showing he used the alias. During the Senate agriculture committee’s inquiry on rice smuggling, senators consistently got a negative answer from Bangayan whenever the trader was asked if he and “David Tan” are the same person. “My name is Davidson Bangayan. I’m not David Tan,” Bangayan said at the start of his testimony during the probe. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima however said that her agency already has two witnesses who said that Bangayan used the alias “David Tan.” De Lima even presented before the committee court documents from a libel case Bangayan supposedly filed against Jesus Arranza, chairman of the Federation of Philippine Industries, in 2005. In these papers, de Lima said Bangayan admitted to being “David Tan.” “How come in that document, he explicitly admitted that Bangayan aka David Tan? At sa attachment niya, Bangayan aka David Tan? Siya ang nag-attach noon,” de Lima said. The Senate committee Read More …

Jan 202014
 
Davidson Bangayan will be placed under Look-out Bulletin – De Lima

(DOJ building) MANILA  (Mabuhay) – Justice Secretary Leila M. De Lima said on Wednesday that controversial businessman Davidson Bangayan will be placed under the Look-out Bulletin. De Lima said that such action will be taken amid the gathering of more information about the possible involvement of Bangayan in rice smuggling because of suspicion that he is also the big-time rice smuggler David Tan. Likewise, De Lima said that she has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to continue with the gathering of additional information and evidence that David Tan and Davidson Bangayan are one and the same person. De Lima added that based on the testimonies of the witnesses of the NBI who are from one of the rice cooperatives, Bangayan and Tan are only one person. At the same time, De Lima said that the NBI has already coordinated with the Caloocan City Regional Trial Court (RTC) to clarify the warrant of arrest it earlier issued against a certain David Tan who was accused of electricity pilferage. De Lima noted that the phrase “who is not” is not usual in a warrant of arrest because the aliases are oftentimes included in the name of the persons ordered to be arrested. The DOJ chief said that this should be clarified, especially so that if the record of the case at the Caloocan City RTC will be made as basis, the addresses of David Tan and Davidson Bangayan are only one and the same. (MNS)

Jan 132014
 
NBI arrests alleged rice smuggler Davidson Bangayan

NBI detains alleged rice smuggler ‘David Tan’. Businessman Davidson Bangayan (in black jacket), believed to be the David Tan being linked to rice smuggling, turned himself in to Justice Secretary Leila De Lima on Tuesday, January 14, to deny involvement in rice smuggling activities. He was later arrested by the NBI for further investigation. John Consulta The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Tuesday arrested businessman and alleged rice smuggler Davidson Bangayan shortly after he personally surrendered to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima earlier in the day. GMA News correspondent John Consulta said in a “Balitanghali” report that NBI operatives served an arrest warrant to Bangayan at the end of his visit to De Lima. He was brought to the NBI headquarters where he will be asked to give his formal statement regarding charges that he was the David Tan allegedly involved in rice smuggling. Consulta said Bangayan’s lawyer looked furious and disappointed that his client was arrested after he personally showed up at De Lima’s office to refute the charges against him. Bangayan surrendered a day after De Lima bared to the media that NBI investigators were able to establish him as the David Tan being linked to rice smuggling activities in the country. – Xianne Arcangel/KBK, GMA News

Jan 122014
 
De Lima: NBI has tracked down alleged rice smuggler ‘David Tan’

Government investigators have tracked down an individual who they believe could be the “David Tan” being linked to rice smuggling operations in the country. In an interview with reporters Monday, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents have found out that Tan’s real name is Davidson Bangayan. “The initial results of the verification and investigation of the NBI is that this David Tan actually exists,” De Lima said, adding the NBI believes that Tan and Bangayan are “one and the same person.” She said the NBI already knows the home and business addresses of Bangayan, who is believed to be a “one-man cartel.” The Department of Justice and the NBI have re-opened their investigation on rice smuggling after Sen. Ralph Recto expressed disappointment over their alleged failure to act on his Senate panel’s recommendation months ago. The panel has recommended to prosecute one David Tan in connection with rice smuggling activities in the country. The DOJ and the NBI “temporarily closed” their probe earlier because the NBI was unable to find out the identity and whereabouts of Tan and fellow suspect, Danny Ngo, despite “diligent efforts.” Some 48 million kilos of smuggled rice worth about P725M are in 1,937 container vans intercepted at various ports nationwide from October to December last year, according to the Bureau of Customs. The Federation of Philippine Industries had earlier said a Davao City-based trader is suspected to be involved in large-scale rice smuggling. Last week, activist lawyer Argee Guevarra Read More …