PAGADIAN CITY: Joint police and military
forces seized some 8,000 bags of imported rice at the Port of Margosatubig in
Zamboanga del Sur, news reaching Philippine Preview said.
The
belated report named the Margosatubig Municipal Police Station and the
Philippine Army’s 53rd Infantry Battalion as having intercepted the said imported
rice– stored in three cargo trucks and a sea vessel cargoes last on Friday,
Sept. 26.
Zambosur
Provincial Police Director S/Supt. Sofronio Ecaldre was quoted as having said
the cargo originated from the Port of Taganak in Tawi-Tawi and arrived in
Margosatubig Port on September 24 without proper documents.
Some
of the imported rice bags were said to be arranged aboard three cargo trucks and
ready for delivery to Pagadian City when they were discovered.
Earlier
on Wednesday, the Bureau of Customs apprehended "illegaly imported" rice
from Thailand at the Manila International Container Port for lack of required
import permit from the National Food Authority (NFA).
The
supposedly smuggled white rice is estimated at 1,250 metric tons and valued
some P50 million, and consigned to a certain Tres Mujeres Agri Venture.
As
this developed, NFA-Zamboanga told this paper that a shipment of imported rice has
arrived last month consisting of 156,000 sacks of Vietnam rice of 50 kilos
each.
The
NFA added it’s the last shipment of imported rice for NFA-Zamboanga for the
year 2014 and that part of the imported rice will be distributed to the
provinces of Zambonorte, Zambosur, Zambo Sibugay, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.