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Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Customs, agri dep't dare councilor to name names
By Danilo V. Adorador III
Correspondent
REGIONAL officials of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) cried foul over the suggestion that some of them are in cahoots with poultry smugglers in the region.
Councilor Alvin Calingin earlier said there are government officials in the regional level who are in collusion with the illegal importation of poultry goods in Region-10.
Poultry raisers in Region-10 themselves gave him the names of the public officials and the private personalities involved, Councilor Calingin said in his special report on Monday session.
Calingin voiced concern on what he claimed as rampant smuggling of poulty products in various ports of the region, saying this would be inimical to the interest of local poultry raisers.
The risk of contracting bird flu virus is another problem that may be posed by said smuggled goods, Calingin said.
The councilor's special report prodded the council members to invite next week the regional officials BOC and DA next week to clarify smuggling issues in the region.
Some quarters expressed suspicions that some officials of the two regional government offices are in cabal with smugglers.
BoC and DA officials however, vehemently denied any involvement in the supposed smuggling, calling Calingin a misinformed councilor hiding under the cloth of parliamentary immunity.
"There is no smuggling of chicken parts whatsoever in the entire region. If the councilor bothered to check his sources, he would have known that the reports are untrue. He is misinformed," said BOC Officer-In Charge, Collector Marvin Mison Tuesday.
Immunity
OIC Mison also dared Calingin to file charges in courts and "name names."
"His statements are very sweeping and unfair. If he wants to be popular, not at our expense, please," a visibly irked Mison told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro.
For DA-10 officials however, smuggling is only confined in Luzon areas, not in Region-10.
"There is no such thing as poultry products smuggling in Region 10. If he (Calingin) says there is, then maybe it's only confined in Manila," DA-10 assistant regional director for Livestock, Martino N. Cajita said.
"On the contrary," Cahita said, "there are so many chickens in this region that our poultry raisers have to sell then to Manila markets."
Cahita's statement, however, appeared to have coincided with Calingin's earlier report that the local market is inundated with the smuggled poultry products.
The DA-10 official did not elaborate.
Despite this, the Agriculture official called on the councilor to "refrain from using his parliamentary immunity."
Anomaly
If there are investigations on the alleged smuggling, Cahita said this should be initiated by Calingin and not by the DA-10.
In his report, Calingin said the modus operandi of the smugglers involves the importation of poultry goods from other countries, re-packing the imported items and making it appear that it originated from the Philippines.
Re-packed imported poultry goods would then be re-exported to other countries, Calingin added.
This anomaly, Calingin disclosed, would not be possible without the participation of public officials, though he did not name names.
"They would export this poultry products to bird flu free countries and would surely make be accepted there since we are the only bird-flu free country in Asia," Calingin said.
The councilor called for the ouster of the officials involved. He said he will divulge their names if the investigation warrants.
(June 22, 2005 issue)
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