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The Department of Agriculture clarified that it ordered the cancellation of the import permit for rice aboard MV Tay Son 2 several days before the vessel reached the Philippines
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Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the cancellation followed derogatory information about the shipment and a request from importer Planters Product Inc.
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Tiu Laurel explained that the agency acted to block the shipment before it could enter the domestic market, rejecting allegations of irregularities in the handling of the case
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The Bureau of Plant Industry recommended returning the shipment to Vietnam, while the Bureau of Customs is determining the cargo’s disposition and any applicable penalties
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The case is part of the total P700M rice seized recently on two vessels
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has clarified that it ordered the cancellation of the import permit for rice aboard MV Tay Son 2 several days before the vessel reached the Philippines following reports linking Agriculture secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. to the company registered for the seized shipment.
“Critics of the DA are painting a false picture of this incident, suggesting malice and corruption through insinuations that border on libel,” Tiu Laurel said in a news release on October 14.
He explained that the agency acted to block the shipment before it could enter the domestic market, rejecting allegations of irregularities in the handling of the case.
“The records will show otherwise. It was the DA, through my office, that stopped the shipment by ordering the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) to cancel its sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPIC), even though the vessel was already on its way to the Philippines,” he added.
Tiu Laurel said the permit was canceled at the request of Planters Product Inc. (PPI), the importer, which had applied to bring in 25%-broken rice but was subsequently informed that the shipment contained 5%-broken rice.
The case concerns the interception by the BOC, DA, and Philippine Navy of two vessels carrying a combined 20,000 metric tons of rice from Vietnam, valued at about P700 million. The other vessel, MV Lucky Star, was carrying 7,500 metric tons, according to a BOC news release.
READ: P700M rice shipment from Vietnam seized by BOC, DA, PH Navy
He added that PPI itself also informed him that the import contract had expired, as delivery had originally been scheduled for July, when domestic rice supplies are typically tighter.
The import permit said MV Tay Son 2 would carry 12,480 metric tons of Vietnamese rice, about one-third of the country’s estimated daily need of 37,000 metric tons.
The SPIC indicated that the shipment was scheduled to arrive in July, rather than September, when the wet-season harvest was about to begin. Its arrival during the harvest period could have put downward pressure on palay prices, Tiu Laurel said.
Without a valid SPIC, rice cannot be unloaded in the Philippines. DA rules allow unpermitted agricultural imports to be seized and destroyed, returned to origin, or shipped to a third country to protect public health and safety.
Vessel refused inspection
MV Tay Son 2 arrived at the Port of Davao on September 14, but its captain refused to submit the rice shipment for BPI inspection. The inspection was intended to determine whether the cargo could be allowed into the country without posing a risk to public health.
Three days later, on September 17, the vessel left Davao while the Bureau of Customs (BOC) was determining how to handle the shipment.
Upon learning of the vessel’s departure, Tiu Laurel instructed the DA’s Inspectorate and Enforcement office to issue a hold order on the cargo’s unloading. The BOC was also alerted in case MV Tay Son 2 attempted to unload its shipment at another Philippine port.
The Philippine Navy subsequently intercepted the vessel off Sarangani and brought it to the Port of General Santos City, where the captain continued to resist BPI efforts to inspect the rice.
The vessel was eventually ordered to return to Davao, where it remains as the BOC determines the shipment’s disposition.
Tiu Laurel said the BPI had recommended returning the rice to Vietnam and was awaiting action by the customs bureau.
DA said the BOC may seize the shipment and penalize the vessel, depending on its findings and applicable rules.
