DOJ finds cause to indict suspected rice smuggler Davidson Bangayan

The Department of Justice is set to press charges against  suspected rice smuggler Davidson Bangayan and five others in court for monopoly and restraint of trade in connection with an alleged rice cartel uncovered during the Benigno Aquino III administration.

In a November 5 review resolution obtained Friday, Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Miguel Gudio, Jr. said he found probable cause to indict Bangayan for violation of Article 186, Paragraph 3 -- monopolies and combinations in restraint of trade -- of the Revised Penal Code and for the unauthorized use of the alias "David Tan."

But the DOJ has thrown out the charge against Bangayan for using fictitious name and concealing true name.

Also recommended charged for Article 186 were Elizabeth Faustino, spouses David and Judilyne Lim, Eleanor Rodriguez and Leah Echeveria, the 14-page resolution indicated. 

They were tagged for allegedly "combining with and employing the concerned farmers' cooperatives and organizations to participate in the bidding of rice importations with the intention of manipulating and increasing the market price of the rice supply."

However, the DOJ dismissed the complaint against the respondents for violation of the Government Procurement Reform Act, explaining that bidding for rice importations is not covered by the said law, which only applies to procurement of infrastructure, projects, goods and consulting services by government offices.

Meanwhile, respondents Eugene Pioquinto, Mary Joyce Lim, Jason Colocado, Michael Villanueva, Denis Gonzales, Willy Sy, Sandra Lim, Gil Calipayan, and Inigo Espiritu were cleared of all charges.

During the preliminary investigation of the National Bureau of Investigation's complaint last year, Bangayan told the DOJ that the allegations against him and his co-respondents were "baseless and speculative."

The NBI's complaint was based on alleged anomalous transactions entered into by Bangayan and his co-respondents through the employment of farmers' organizations as their dummies in the bidding of rice importations carried out by the National Food Authority at its office in Taguig City, the resolution recalled.

The bureau alleged two transactions: one between Bangayan and Faustino and six cooperatives and another between David, Lim, Rodriguez and Echeveria and four cooperatives, prompting the DOJ to resolve the charges against them separately.

These cooperatives were the Riverview MPC, Umasaka MPC, Sitio Muzon MPC, Sta. Cecilia MPC, Formosa MPC, GPI San Miguel MPC, Kapatirang Takusa MPC, Ugnayang Magbubukid ng San Isidro, Inc., Samahan ng Kapampangan at Katagaluhan MPC, and Samahan ng Magsasaka sa Kalawitan MPC.

As to Bangayan and Faustino, the DOJ said the affidavits of two witnesses show the two respondents conspired to engage in "anomalous" dealings to "manipulate" rice importations -- such as Bangayan allegedly acting as the financier of some of the cooperatives and Faustino acting as his broker.

Witness affidavits also proved the liability of Rodriguez, Echeveria and spouses Lim, the DOJ said. And though they contended the act was not prohibited, the four also admitted they "supported and financed the farmers' cooperatives in the rice importations," it observed.

Other pieces of evidence submitted by the NBI included various documents pertaining to the cooperatives, which "glaringly disclose" the entities "have no financial capacity to make huge importations," the DOJ said.

"The financial and technical support provided by the respondents to these farmers' cooperatives, to the extent of undertaking all the processing of the governmental requirements and paying all the necessary expenses, as well as the fact that the cooperatives were required to assign their respective importations only to the respondents, clearly indicate respondents' intention to use these entities as dummies with the end in view of monopolizing and manipulating the rice supply in the country," the resolution stated. —LBG/NB, GMA News