Saturday, April 05, 2008 Nalzaro: Regan King's predicament By Bobby Nalzaro Saksi
WHILE government has the power to run after economic saboteurs and other people engaged in illegal activities, it also has the duty to protect the interests of those who are into legitimate businesses and who are religiously paying taxes.
But the problem with some government agencies, especially revenue earners and law enforcement units, is that they make the lives of legitimate businessmen miserable. That can be traced to personal agenda and ill-motive. Sometimes this is the bottom line: money.
Corrupt government functionaries are making people doing illegal businesses, as well as legitimate businessmen, their “milking cows.” Was the raid on businessman Regan King’s warehouse, where 30,000 sacks of imported rice were stocked, an example of this?
King, who was once a kidnap-for-ransom victim, claimed the raid conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 on his bodega was an act of harassment. If indeed it was meant to harass, did the people who conducted it have personal agenda?
The incident also showed lack of coordination among government agencies monitoring rice importations. Why, for example, did the NBI 7 hastily apply for a search warrant without checking first with the other agencies, like the Bureau of Customs and National Food Authority (NFA), the status of the shipment and the legitimacy of King’s business?
I understand NBI 7 people acted on orders from their higher-ups in view of President Arroyo's announcement to go after rice hoarders. But they should have acted with caution and prudence. They should have checked and double-checked their information.
NBI 7 and NFA officials justified their action by claiming that King violated Presidential Decree 4 for storing rice stocks in a non-accredited warehouse. A simple violation, I would say.
But King said he has an accreditation from the NFA provincial office, though under Jolli Traders, which leased the warehouse from former Cebu Philippine Ports Authority manager Mariano Martinez, the subject of the search warrant.
The Kings have been importing rice for years now and this is the first time they encountered a problem with government agencies. Regan, whose family is also into heavy industries and car assembly, has threatened to stop importing rice because of this bad experience.
We cannot blame him because it seems that some people want him to bleed financially. This could be because of bureaucratic red tape or corruption. But if King stops importing rice, who will fill up his allocation? That could result to a real rice shortage.
Can government protect legitimate businessmen from unscrupulous government functionaries? Other rice dealers are already worried about what happened to King. They fear that they will become the next victim.
This incident is a big slap on the NBI especially because President Arroyo ordered the release of the rice upon learning that the transaction was above board. NBI 7’s reaction: “Let the court decide on the matter.”
That is but a face saving gesture by NBI 7. But what about the damage suffered by King because of the error?
