NBI urges raps vs. Bangayan, Banayo for rigged rice imports

The National Bureau of Investigation has recommended the filing of criminal charges against rice trader Davidson Bangayan and former National Food Authority administrator Angelito Banayo for allegedly rigging NFA's rice importation program.
 

Bangayan, who's allegedly the same person as notorious rice smuggler David Tan, will be charged with violation of the Government Procurement Reform Act for bid-fixing; as well as violation of Article 186 of the Revised Penal Code, penalizing monopolies and restraint of trade.

 

Banayo will be charged with violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. 

 

Facing graft raps as well are lawyer Jose Cordero, Celia Tan, lawyer Gilberto Lauengco, Carlito Co, and lawyer Judy Carol Dansal, all of the NFA Special Bids and Awards Committee.

 

"Upon investigation, the NBI discovered a scheme whereby certain rice traders/importers were able to corner the National Food Authority's rice import allocations through the use of farmers' organizations/cooperatives and single proprietorships as dummies in the NFA bidding for rice Import Allocation under the Private Sector-Financed  importation thru the NFA Tax Expenditure Subsidy," read the report NBI Director Virgilio Mendez signed.

 

The NBI said the rice traders and importers pooled the bidders into groups and financed their individual bids for NFA rice allocations. In exchange, the bidders were given a small percentage share of a certain amount per sack of rice they were allowed to import.

 

"This scheme, in turn, allowed these rice traders/importers to corner the rice import allocations that were put up for bidding by the NFA, even if they were not licensed by the NFA to engage in rice importation or bidding," the NBI said.

 

Others to be charged are Judilyne Lim, Elizabeth Faustino, Eleanor Rodriguez, and Leah Echeveria, who were the owners of the single proprietorships and representatives and officers of the farmers' cooperatives and organizations.

 

The NBI said Tan and the FO and FC officers will be charged for their "act of combining, conspiring and agreeing with one another in the manipulation of the bidding process for the award of rice import allocation from the NFA."

 

"They engaged in, or made transactions prejudicial to lawful commerce, restrained free competition in the market, and altered or manipulated the market price of rice, which is a commodity of prime necessity in the Philippines," it added.

 

The NBI said the NFA officials will be charged for "giving unwarranted advantage or preference" to the winning bidders and awarding rice import allocations to them despite their financial incapability to purchase the rice imports.

 

"The NFA SBAC should have known from the start the bid documents submitted by the FCs/FOs and single proprietorship bidders that they were not financially capable entities," the NBI said. 

 

"Despite the lack of financial capability... the NFA SBAC still considered them qualified and proceeded to award them the corresponding rice import allocation," it added. —NB, GMA News