Senate agri smuggling probe cites 2 brokers in contempt

The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform on Tuesday cited two brokers in contempt for alleged “untruthful” statements during the ongoing legislative inquiry into agricultural smuggling.

Senator JV Ejercito moved to cite in contempt brokers Lujin Ramos Tenero and Brenda De Sagun over alleged inconsistencies in their written testimonies, asking them to explain why they should not be cited for repeatedly failing to identify the individuals they transacted with, under a scheme the Bureau of Customs (BOC) described as “consignees-for-hire.”

“I move to cite them in contempt because I don’t think they are very truthful in their explanation why they should not be cited in contempt,” said Ejercito. 

Tenero, who earlier admitted to signing the documents for the importation, stood firm that he was unaware of the surname of a certain “Mr. Carlos” from the BOC, who allegedly asked him to sign the import entry documents for three containers that the Department of Agriculture (DA) said contained misdeclared goods amounting to around P68 million.

He reiterated that brokers only based on documents when transacting and turned emotional as he narrated repeatedly returning to the port in a bid to find “Mr. Carlos” but the latter was nowhere to be found. 

“2017 ka pa broker. Ang hirap naman paniwalaan na ilang taon ka ng broker, nakikipag-kontrata ka sa hindi mga hindi mo kilala,” Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, Senate committee chairperson, said. 

(You’ve been a broker for 2017. It is difficult to believe that you are contracting with people you don’t know.)

“Sana maintindihan mo, hindi namin nais na ikaw ay ikulong. Baka sakali sa ilang araw na ikaw ay makapag-isip, kung kinakailangan mo ng protection ng Senado, maibibigay  ito sayo. Kung nais mo bumalik sa port area para hanapin itong Carlos na sinaasabi mo, pwede kang samahan ng sergeant-at-arms ng Senado,” he said. 

(I hope you understand, we don’t want to detain you. But we think that you can think about this for a few days. If you need protection from the Senate, we can give that. If you want to return to the port to find Carlos, then the sergeant-at-arms can accampany you.)

Likewise, Sagun was cited in contempt for failing to identify “Vicente” but reiterated she only lendt her license and did not know him. 

“Parehas kasi ang istilo ninyo. Hindi niyo kilala, alam lang niyo first name. Pumirma kayo, pumayag kayo, milyon-milyon ang halaga,” said Pangilinan.

(You have the same style. You don’t know them and only know their first names but you signed.)

The brokers will be detained in Senate custody if there are vacancies. If not, they will remain at the Pasay City Jail.

“Kung kayo ay magsasabi ng totoo maaari kayong gawin state witness. Maagiging immune kayo. Sana maunaawan ninyo ayaw namin kayong ikulong pero ayaw din namin na may nagsisinungaling sa committee na ito,” Pangilinan said.

(If you will cooperate and tell the truth, you can be state witnesses. You will be immune to charges. I hope you understand we don’t want to detain you but we also don’t want you to lie in this committee.)

“Higit sa lahat, ayaw namin kayong ikulong dahil alam namin na kinasangkapan lang kayo. Wala naman kayong kakayahan na gumastos ng P60 million. Gusto namin malaman sino gumastos ng P60 million na ginamit kayo para magpasok ng smuggled na produkto,” he added. 

(We don’t want to detain you because we know you were used. You don’t have the capacity to spend P60 million. We want to know who had that P60 million who used you to smuggle the products.) — BM, GMA Integrated News